A group of scientists from Scotland has developed new 3D printing device test medications. The invention could speed up patient access to new treatments and eliminate the need for animal testing.
Animal rights organization PETA estimates that more than 100 million people die each year as a result of this type of testing. This is if you count only laboratories in the USA. Mice, frogs, dogs, rabbits, monkeys, fish and birds are used for various experiments. From cosmetic tests to new drugs.
For drugs, many regulatory agencies around the world require toxicity testing on animals before moving on to use in humans. However, nine out of 10 drugs that enter human clinical trials fail because they are unsafe and ineffective.
Researchers from the University of Edinburgh have developed innovator”body on crystal» (body-on-a-chip) that can change everything. It is a small microfluidic culture device that reproduces the complex structures and functions of various living human organs. Its creators claim that it is the first in the world.
The invention was made from plastic using a 3D printer, with five compartments simulating the heart, lungs, kidneys, liver and brain. They are connected by channels that imitate the human circulatory system and repeat the flow of medicine through the patient’s body.
Animal-free testing and more effective drugs
The device, which will allow testing without animals, uses positron emission tomography (PET) to obtain 3D images. This analysis provides detailed information about how artificial organs react to certain substances. “This allows us to see where a new drug goes into the body and how long it stays there, without having to use a human or animal to test it,” said Liam Carr., group leader, The keeper.
Carr explained that the platform is completely flexible. Therefore, it can be a tool for studying various human diseases. Between them cancer and cardiovascular, neurodegenerative or autoimmune diseases.
“We could put a model of fatty liver disease in the device and use it to see how a diseased liver affects other organs such as the heart, brain, kidneys, etc.,” he commented. “We might even be able to combine multiple models of diseased cells to see how diseases might interfere with each other.”
Adriana Tavares, from the Center for Cardiovascular Sciences (CVS) at the University of Edinburgh, stressed that the key to success is combining the five organs in one device. He added: “This device shows great potential for reducing the large number of animals used worldwide for testing drugs and other compounds,” he said.
This will not only end testing based on animal cruelty. An animal-free approach to drug testing This would significantly reduce the cost of producing new drugs and speed up access to them for patients. Ultimately, the researchers are betting that models that replicate human biology will always be more accurate than animal-based methods.
Source: Hiper Textual
