Lab-on-a-Chip Drives Search for Anti-clot Drugs
August 20, 2019 | RMIT UniversityEstimated reading time: 3 minutes
A tiny lab the size of a postage stamp could be the next big thing in the search for safer anti-clotting drugs to prevent heart attacks and strokes.
The effectiveness of current anti-clotting medication can be limited due to the risk of complications, driving a need for alternatives that can both prevent the formation of blood clots and reduce the risk of excessive and life-threatening bleeding.
The new biocompatible lab-on-a-chip, detailed in a paper published recently in the journal Analytical Chemistry, could help accelerate the discovery and development of new anti-clotting therapies. The technology has been developed by a team of biochemists and engineers led by RMIT University and the Haematology Micro-platforms group at the Australian Centre for Blood Diseases (ACBD) in Melbourne, Australia.
It effectively shrinks a medical pathology laboratory onto a small chip, with automated processes that can achieve in a few minutes what could take days in a full-sized lab. The new device is designed specifically to work with the complex and sensitive biology of blood, featuring a unique system of micropumps and analysis tools for testing the effect of chemical compounds on how the blood clots.
Lead investigator Dr Warwick Nesbitt, RMIT and Monash University, is working with collaborators at the ACBD to use the pioneering device to better understand clotting mechanisms and develop new anti-clotting drugs. Nesbitt said very few microdevices developed to date were suitable for clinical or research use, because they had not been driven by insight into how blood actually behaves.
"Blood is extremely sensitive to artificial surfaces and clots very easily, so blood-handling technologies must be equally sensitive," Nesbitt, a Vice-Chancellor's Senior Research Fellow at RMIT and group leader at ACBD, said. "We've combined a deep understanding of the biology of blood with precision microfabrication engineering and design, to deliver a device that can work with whole blood and produce reliable results. We hope this powerful new tool will give researchers an edge in delivering better and safer anti-clotting treatments, to improve the health and wellbeing of millions around the world."
Co-lead author Dr. Crispin Szydzik said the device could mimic conditions within blood vessels.
"It's a key step towards the development of quick and efficient microsystems for pre-clinical and clinical haematology screening and diagnostics."
Honey I shrunk the lab: how it works
The microlab can screen hundreds of drug compounds in just a few hours, revealing their effect on blood and quickly identifying those that have the most potential for clinical use.
The device is based on microfluidic chip technology developed at RMIT's Micro Nano Research Facility (MNRF) and within the Vascular Biology Laboratory (ACBD—Monash University).
A microfluidic chip contains an array of miniature channels, valves, processors and pumps that can precisely and flexibly manipulate fluids.
The chips combine speed, portability and capacity, handling vast quantities of tiny processing elements. Importantly, they are also scaleable and cheap to produce. The microfluidic technology was combined with a sensitive assay for testing how platelets—the component of blood that forms clots—respond to different chemical combinations.
In a proof-of-concept application, the microlab was used to investigate how dosing blood with select small molecule inhibitors affects platelet thrombus dynamics, that is, how the platelets clump together. The promising results demonstrated that the automated lab-on-chip could accurately control blood flow, deliver and mix drug compounds with blood in seconds and send the dosed blood to a downstream thrombus assay system.
MNRF Director, Distinguished Professor Arnan Mitchell, said existing technologies for testing chemical compounds in blood are highly labour intensive and time consuming, limiting how many can be screened at any time.
"Our device enables researchers to send hundreds of potential combinations through the system, mixing them with blood extremely rapidly and delivering results in just a few minutes," Mitchell said. "Small, targeted, automated and precise—it's the future of drug development technology."
Suggested Items
Warm Windows and Streamlined Skin Patches – IDTechEx Explores Flexible and Printed Electronics
04/26/2024 | IDTechExFlexible and printed electronics can be integrated into cars and homes to create modern aesthetics that are beneficial and easy to use. From luminous car controls to food labels that communicate the quality of food, the uses of this technology are endless and can upgrade many areas of everyday life.
iNEMI Packaging Tech Topic Series: Role of EDA in Advanced Semiconductor Packaging
04/26/2024 | iNEMIAdvanced semiconductor packaging with heterogenous integration has made on-package integration of multiple chips a crucial part of finding alternatives to transistor scaling. Historically, EDA tools for front-end and back-end design have evolved separately; however, design complexity and the increased number of die-to-die or die-to-substrate interconnections has led to the need for EDA tools that can support integration of overall design planning, implementation, and system analysis in a single cockpit.
Koh Young Showcases Award-winning Inspection Solutions at SMTconnect with SmartRep in Hall 4A.225
04/25/2024 | Koh Young TechnologyKoh Young Technology, the industry leader in True 3D measurement-based inspection solutions, will showcase an array of award-winning inspection and measurement solutions at SMTconnect alongside its sales partner, SmartRep, in booth 4A.225 at NürnbergMesse from June 11-13, 2023. The following offers a glimpse into what Koh Young will present at the tradeshow:
Real Time with… IPC APEX EXPO 2024: Plasmatreat: Innovative Surface Preparation Solutions
04/25/2024 | Real Time with...IPC APEX EXPOIn this interview, Editor Nolan Johnson speaks with Hardev Grewal, CEO and president of Plasmatreat, a developer of atmospheric plasma solutions. Plasmatreat uses clean compressed air and electricity to create plasma, offering environmentally friendly methods for surface preparation. Their technology measures plasma density for process optimization and can remove organic micro-contamination. Nolan and Hardev also discuss REDOX-Tool, a new technology for removing metal oxides.
Nanotechnology Market to Surpass $53.51 Billion by 2031
04/25/2024 | PRNewswireSkyQuest projects that the nanotechnology market will attain a value of USD 53.51 billion by 2031, with a CAGR of 36.4% over the forecast period (2024-2031).