Hurel -- an in vivo-surrogate assay platform for cell-based studies

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Pharmacology
• Toxicology

Background:

• Traditional in vitro cell culture assays lack the complexity of the human body, limiting drug response prediction.
• In vivo animal studies, while more comprehensive, are expensive, time-consuming, and raise concerns about human risk extrapolation.
• Existing methods struggle with accurate prediction of pharmaceutical efficacy and toxicity due to physiological complexity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce the Hurel biochip system, a novel microfluidic device designed to better mimic human physiological conditions for drug testing.
• To provide a more accurate and reliable in vitro method for assessing drug candidates' toxicity, metabolism, and bioavailability.
• To enhance the prioritization of drug leads before proceeding to expensive animal studies.

Main Methods:

• Development of an interactive, cell-based microfluidic biochip (Hurel) with interconnected 'tissue' or 'organ' compartments.
• Utilizing a re-circulating culture medium as a 'blood surrogate' to simulate circulatory system dynamics.
• Designing fluidics to accurately mimic circulatory system elements and inter-organ interactions for dynamic drug exposure.

Main Results:

• The Hurel system creates a realistic physiological environment for drug candidates, surpassing traditional in vitro assays in informational content.
• Enables dynamic assessment of potential drug toxicity, metabolism, and bioavailability.
• Demonstrates potential for improved accuracy in predicting human response to pharmaceuticals.

Conclusions:

• The Hurel biochip system offers a significant advancement over traditional methods for preclinical drug evaluation.
• This technology has the potential to reduce the cost and improve the reliability of drug development pipelines.
• By providing more accurate physiological simulation, the Hurel system can enhance the early-stage prioritization of drug candidates.