3D-printed organ-on-a-chip platforms for in vitro toxicity screening of xenobiotics

Cardiotoxicity (i.e., electrophysiological dysfunction or muscle damage in the heart) associated with certain pharmaceuticals is one of the main reasons for safety-related compound attrition and drug withdrawals. Presently, both automated electrophysiological and fluorescence polarization assays are commercially available for measuring the hERG potassium channel blockage (an indicator for cardiotoxicity) in vitro. However, a major challenge remains especially with the chemotherapy agents, and alike drugs, whose cardiotoxicity is associated with their hepatic metabolites instead of the active pharmaceutical ingredient, and due to lack of appropriate in vitro technology, cannot be revealed until in animal studies. In this project, we will develop new 3D printing techniques (both additive manufacturing and bioprinting) for implementation of so called organ-on-a-chip platforms that facilitate cardiotoxicity screening of APIs and their biological metabolites on a single microfluidic chip.