Microfluidic system for predicting drug-induced skin sensitisation

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Microfluidic system for predicting drug-induced skin sensitisation

  • December 06, 2018

Skin sensitisation after the administration of drugs is a common medical problem which can sometimes trigger a severe or even life-threatening reaction. 

A research team led by BIGHEART principal investigator Asst Prof. Toh Yi-Chin recently developed a liver-immune co-culture system using microfluidic technology that can accurately predict the skin sensitisation effects of drugs. This is a better system than existing in vitro models that only use skin cells because in the human body drugs can be converted by liver cells into molecules that trigger an immune response. 

This research work has been published in Lab on a Chip and Asst Prof. Toh was featured in a video interview of the journal’s “Emerging Investigator Series”, where she talked about how her work evolved from microfluidic liver models and the medical importance of predicting drug-induced skin sensitisation. She also received positive feedback when she presented the research work at the 22nd International Conference on Miniaturized Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences (µTAS 2018) held in Kaohsiung in November. 

Please click HERE for the research article. 

Please click HERE or the YouTube window below to watch the full video: