Mitochondrial dysfunction plays a critical role in the development of chemical and pharmaceutical toxicity. However, current methods to evaluate mitochondrial activity still rely on traditional tests called endpoint assays, which provide limited prognostic information.
Scientists, however, from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem have described a new generation of Liver-on-Chip devices, in which the researchers add glucose and lactate microsensors, allowing them to measure minuscule changes in central carbon metabolism in real time (seconds to minutes). Their microfluidic platform is composed of submillimeter human tissues, which are characterized as "bionic" because they contain optoelectronic sensors for oxygen and are maintained under conditions simulating the human physiological environment. The platform includes a computer-controlled switchboard and permits the automated measurement of glucose and lactate using clinical-grade microsensors. The sensor-integrated platform permits real-time tracking of the dynamics of metabolic adaptation to any type of mitochondrial damage for over a month in culture.
The team's study ("Real-time Monitoring of Metabolic Function in Liver-on-Chip Microdevices Tracks the Dynamics of Mitochondrial Dysfunction") appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Read more: Novel Biotechnology Enables Analysis of Mitochondrial Damage Induced by Drug Toxicity.
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