Descrizione del progetto
Tecnologia con chip tumorale per imitare il modo in cui le cellule tumorali reagiscono ai farmaci
Nel trattamento del cancro, la scelta della terapia più efficace per ciascun paziente è come il Santo Graal. La scarsa efficacia di molti trattamenti antitumorali deriva principalmente dalla limitata capacità di prevedere la risposta del tumore del paziente agli agenti terapeutici. Il progetto BITFORM, finanziato dall’UE, sta sviluppando un sistema ingegnerizzato che dovrebbe consentire un’accurata previsione della risposta tumorale ai farmaci antitumorali e migliorare ulteriormente l’esito dei pazienti. Si tratterà di un bioreattore ecosistemico on-a-chip per carcinoma mammario che conserverà le caratteristiche del tessuto canceroso con elevata affidabilità. I biomarcatori secreti dalle cellule del cancro al seno saranno monitorati in tempo reale da un modulo di biorilevamento collegato. La nuova piattaforma dovrebbe portare a una nuova metodologia per testare efficacemente le terapie anticancro on-a-chip.
Obiettivo
In this project I will develop an integrated multi-module platform in which a breast cancer ecosystem-on-a-chip (BCE-on-a-chip) bioreactor module, connected to an optical biosensing module based on multiplexed Resonant Nanopillars (R-NPs) transducers, will be developed for biomarkers and anti-breast cancer drug real-time monitoring.
Currently attrition rates in clinical trials for new anti-cancer drugs and personalized treatments are higher than all other therapeutic areas. Mainly due to the great reliability on conventional 2D and 3D scaffolds in-vitro culture methodologies in preclinical studies. Those cell-based models are limited by their
inability to conserve the patient tumor features and do not accurately show drug response, observed later in clinical trials.
Due to the increasing number of cancer diagnoses, an engineered system that allows an accurate prediction of patient tumor response to anti-cancer drug, is urgently needed.
In Bitform Project I will develop a BCE-on-a-chip bioreactor that intends to conserve the cancer tissue characteristics with high reliability. Breast cancer cell secreted biomarkers will be monitored in real-time with a multiplexed biosensing module based on R-NPs. In order to assess the capability of Bitform platform, an anti-cancer drug demonstrator (Paclitaxel) will be tested. By delivering Paclitaxel to the BCE-on-a-chip, monitoring of different cell secreted target biomarkers will permit to evaluate the effect of this drug, and thus to demonstrate the performance of the platform.
The Bitform platform will be suitable for different organ-on-chip culture models and biomolecules monitoring secreted by the cells. This will lead to a new methodology for testing anti-cancer therapies on-a-chip. This is a relevant milestone to study the further potential of the Bitform Platform in personalized medicine, which can have a transformative impact not only on the outcome but also on the costs of treatments by avoiding expensive failures.
Campo scientifico
- engineering and technologyenvironmental biotechnologybioremediationbioreactors
- engineering and technologyenvironmental biotechnologybiosensing
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicineoncologybreast cancer
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencespersonalized medicine
- engineering and technologyother engineering and technologiesmicrotechnologyorgan on a chip
Parole chiave
Programma(i)
Argomento(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinatore
28040 Madrid
Spagna