Project description
Advanced imaging will visualise metabolism in action in miniature organ systems
Dynamic nuclear polarisation (DNP) of labelled metabolites is a process that dramatically enhances signal detection with magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy. Not only does this amplify the amount of information one can obtain but it can also significantly reduce the time to do so. DNP-MR is gaining attention for use in biomolecular research, material science, and pharmaceuticals, and recently was used to enable non-invasive assessment of metabolism in vivo and in real time in humans. The EU-funded BLOC project is now applying cutting-edge DNP-MR technology to organ-on-a-chip (OOC) devices. Even better, the researchers plan to use the technology to evaluate a biomimetic multi-organ system critical to whole-body metabolism, liver spheroids and pancreatic islets.
Objective
Organ-on-a-chip (OOC) devices offer new approaches to metabolic disease modelling and drug discovery by providing biologically relevant models of tissues and organs in vitro integrated with sensing technology. As such, OOC devices have the potential to revolutionise the pharmaceutical industry by enabling reliable and high predictive in vitro testing of drug candidates. The capability to miniaturise microfluidic systems and advanced tissue fabrication procedures have enabled researchers to create multiple tissues on a chip with a high degree of control over experimental variables for high-content screening applications. The objective of this project is to develop a new technology based on magnetic resonance spectroscopy and imaging using dynamic nuclear polarisation (DNP-MR) integrated with OOC devices to monitor disease and evaluate drug response in OOC models. As a proof-of-concept, this project will fabricate a biomimetic multi OOC integrated device composed of liver spheroids and pancreatic islets and develop the necessary DNP-MR hardware and software to study metabolic diseases and for future drug screening applications.
Fields of science
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacydrug discovery
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencessoftware
- engineering and technologyother engineering and technologiesmicrotechnologylab on a chip
- engineering and technologyother engineering and technologiesmicrotechnologyorgan on a chip
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesopticsspectroscopy
Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinator
08028 Barcelona
Spain