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R&D

R&D Projects

Organ on a Chip

What is Organ on a Chip

  • Animal testing plays a crucial role in predicting pharmacokinetics as a preclinical test in drug development. The efficacy and toxicity of a drug candidate in the human body are predicted based on the previously obtained information from animal testing. However, errant pharmacokinetic predictions caused by the species differences between humans and experimental animals have led to abandonment of some candidate compounds prior to clinical trials. And they directly affect the efficiency and costs of new drug development. In the European Union, animal testing for cosmetic development has been completely prohibited since 2013.
  • Currently, in vitro tests with human-derived cells are used as an alternative to animal testing. These cell-based assays are an effective means for preliminary screening such as cytotoxicity. However, these methods have some problems. The cells cultured using petri dishes and multi-well plates may markedly lose their responsiveness and functions. And also interactions between organs cannot be evaluated directly.

What is 3-D HuChip®?

3-D HuChip® is an organ on a chip that enables to observe disease reactions and screen drugs by demonstrating a system. This system allows human body-derived cells to interact with organs in a 3-D culture environment (collagen scaffold, replication of consistent and steady blood flow through computer program, control the flow speed with the channel, isolation culture between organs through membrane).

Features of 3-D HuChip®

  • Pumpless type: Use small quantity of culture medium to replicate bloodstream
  • Replication of bloodstream: Drug, metabolites and protein spread out more evenly through Gravity Flow Machine’s movement
  • Wide scope of application: Possible to apply into various cells
  • Possible to customize: The shape of chip can be changed by the purpose of the experiment
  • Easy to apply: Possible to apply existing cell culture and efficacy evaluation methods

Intellectual property rights

  • Trade Mark registration: 3-D HuChip (Registration no.: 40-1457467; Registration date: 13. Mar. 2019; Rep. of Korea)
  • Licensed in: Transfer of effective evaluation platform technology for functional food materials using instestinal-liver system (Hongik University)