Development of an advanced, microfluidic cardiovascular in vitro model to assess toxicity
About the Project
There are a lack of trained toxicologists globally and the skills required by toxicologists are changing. Traditionally, a reliance was placed on using animals to test chemical toxicity, however there is now a drive to develop and employ new approach methodologies (NAMs) that can be used to assess safety often without using animals, and with the added advantages of greater speed, accuracy and using fewer resources.
NAMs include in silico, in chemico, simple and advanced in vitro models as well as lab-on-a-chip technologies. It is unlikely that individual NAMs will be able to replace a specific animal study, instead a battery of NAMs will be needed to increase confidence of predicting an in vivo (human) response. Accelerating the development of NAMs is therefore extremely topical for academics, regulators, policy makers and industry.
Heriot Watt University has vast expertise in the development of simple and advanced, physiologically relevant in vitro (cell based) models (e.g. of the lung, liver, intestine, skin, immune system, placenta). We are now interested in applying our knowledge and skills to develop advanced cardiovascular in vitro models. Culturing cardiovascular cells inside microfluidic lab-on-a-chip devices allows us to better simulate fluid behaviours that are essential for endothelial cell development and growth behaviour. This allows cardiovascular models cultured in microfluidic devices to develop structures more representative of in vivo biology, such as functional endothelial barriers and 3D microvasculature structures.
The aim of this PhD is to develop a new, advanced microfluidic cardiovascular in vitro model that can be employed to assess cardiovascular toxicity of chemicals, materials or drugs.
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