Huh Lab Placenta-on-a-Chip (IMAGE)
Caption
The Huh lab's placenta-on-a-chip features two microfluidic channels that represent the maternal and fetal circulatory systems, and a membrane with living cells from the placental barrier that separates the two. There are few good options for testing how pharmaceuticals and other supplements might cross the placental barrier during pregnancy. Simulating that barrier on a chip, using human cells, is an alternative to inconclusive animal models, or using placental tissue donated after birth, which have a limited lifespan and require complicated experimental set-ups.
Credit
University of Pennsylvania
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