Revolutionary Heart-on-a-Chip Technology Offers Cardiovascular Advantages

Researchers at the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a groundbreaking tool for studying cardiovascular diseases - a heart-on-a-chip (HoC) that replicates humanlike models. This innovative technology has the potential to replace animal testing, shorten drug development timelines, and reduce costs.

The HoC is part of the larger organ-on-a-chip (OoC) suite, which mimics the interactions of cells within the heart on a small chip. The actual design of the HoC may vary, but it typically consists of a small, transparent or semi-transparent chip with a network of microchannels printed on a layer of polymer. These microchannels imitate the blood vessels found in the human heart.

Researchers place human heart cells within these microchannels to manipulate and observe their behavior. They can independently stimulate the cells or observe their response under different conditions, such as the introduction of a drug. This allows them to study the effects of various substances on the heart cells in a controlled environment.

"The heart-on-a-chip is designed to mimic the conditions of a real heart," explains NIST researcher Darwin Reyes, who led the development of this HoC system. "We can manipulate the environment to change stem cells into heart cells and make them contract and relax, as they do in a body to produce a heartbeat."

The heart-on-a-chip is just one component of the organ-on-a-chip system, which relies on microfluidics to create advanced models of organs and tissues on small chips in the lab. This technology has the potential to revolutionize drug development by providing researchers with a more comprehensive understanding of how different organs function together in the human body.

For example, researchers can connect a heart-on-a-chip to a liver-on-a-chip to simulate how the heart and liver interact in response to certain drugs or medical conditions. This interconnected approach allows for a more accurate representation of the human body's response to medications.

In traditional drug development, animals are often used as test subjects. However, animal physiology does not perfectly match human physiology, leading to potential discrepancies in drug effectiveness and safety. By using the heart-on-a-chip and other organ-on-a-chip models, researchers aim to reduce reliance on animal testing and minimize the risks associated with human testing.

"The ultimate goal is to, if possible, be able to skip animal testing altogether," says Reyes. "This would not only shorten the time it takes to test drugs but also make medications more affordable."

While the heart-on-a-chip is primarily focused on cardiovascular drug development, the capabilities of the organ-on-a-chip system extend beyond a specific organ. It can be applied to various cell types, including those relevant to cancer research.

"We are currently in the test phase of understanding how we can track the movement and aggressiveness of cancer cells in real time," reveals Reyes. "Our hope is that, with further testing, the system may be able to provide measurements of cancer cell aggressiveness that could aid in diagnosis."