Researchers at Harvard’s Wyss Institute have created a living, breathing human lung-on-a-chip. It mimics the alveolar membrane, the border between air and the bloodstream. This membrane was imitated using a microfabrication process that uses clear rubbery materials to create a porous membrane between layers of living cells. Gas exchange does not happen in the device yet but it does respond to bacteria or airborne pollutants the same way a lung in a living body responds. It is meant to be used to test the effect of drugs and toxins on the lung tissue. The team is also working on getting other organs on a chip, including gut, bone marrow and cancer models. The results are published in the June 25 issue of Science.
Press release: Living, breathing human lung-on-a-chip: A potential drug-testing alternative…
Article abstract: Reconstituting Organ-Level Lung Functions on a Chip…