Spatial Tissue Patterning within Organ-Chips

EPSRC funded research project with six industry partners to Accelerate the Medicine Revolution through development of organ-chip technology

Organ-chip platforms
Commercial organ-chip platforms to be used as part of this project (from left Emulate, Mimetas, CNBio)

Project  Outline

Our vision is to develop enabling organ-chip technology to accelerate the time from medicines discovery to deployment. This will be achieved through 3D bioprinting and micro-manufacturing techniques developed specifically for use within the complex environment of microfluidic organ-chips. Our vision and approach are supported by partnership with major biopharma (GSK, UCB-Pharma), Organ-chip technology providers (Emulate, CN-Bio and Mimetas), and by the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority.

The development pipeline for new therapeutics is failing due to inadequate pre-clinical testing methodologies and a reliance on in vivo animal testing. This has a significant environmental and sustainability impact with wasted energy and resources as well as associated time and money. It is estimated that over 90% of drugs entering clinical trials ultimate fail, wasting 10-15 years and over £1billion for each failed therapeutic. Unless we solve this challenge, industry will not be able to deliver on the exciting promise of new therapeutics.

This research programme will develop innovative micro-manufacturing approaches to spatially pattern tissues within organ-chips, producing models that replicate the complex intra- and inter- tissue heterogeneity, gradients and interfaces. Building on emerging technologies of light-based patterning, buoyancy/diffusion fabrication and 3D bioprinting, we will spatially pattern matrix niche environments, cell populations and mechanical and biochemical differentiation cues to create tissue patterning. Our novel approaches will provide a toolbox of validated, industry-ready methodologies which will facilitate models that more accurately represent their in vivo homologues, increasing predictive power for pre-clinical testing. As demonstrator exemplars of this spatial tissue patterning technology, we will deliver a suite of musculoskeletal (MSK) organ-chip models aligned with partner needs.

By developing micro-manufacturing spatial tissue patterning methodologies, we will enable next generation organ-chip models which industry desperately needs to accelerate the medicines revolution. This programme is therefore critical in providing a more efficient, affordable, and sustainable preclinical testing pipeline to deliver safer and more effective therapies from bench to bedside.

Project Investigator Team:

Industry Partners

  • GSK
  • UCB-Pharma
  • Emulate Inc
  • CN-Bio
  • Mimetas
  • UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority

Further Information

Please contact Prof Martin Knight