A miniature version of the human heart on a chip has been developed which can be used as an experimental platform to study the cardiotoxic effects of drugs instead of laboratory animals.
The result is published in the journal Lab on a Chip, of the Royal Society of Chemistry, by researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
The new human heart on a chip, capable of reproducing around 60 beats per minute, was created starting from induced pluripotent stem cells, which were made to differentiate into cells of the heart tissue (cardiomyocytes) and blood vessels (endothelial cells), then deposited over a flexible silicone material called polydimethylsiloxane.
The main peculiarity of the chip is given by the presence of two parallel channels that allow cardiomyocytes and endothelial cells to stay separate as in the human body while remaining close enough to interact.
By simulating blood flow and the mechanical movements of the heart in response to drug administration, this platform allows us to predict their toxicity, which can lead to arrhythmias or even the death of cardiac muscle cells.
The effects can also be monitored in the long term, as the heart-on-a-chip remains functional for several weeks.
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