A roundabout was recently constructed at an old 5-way intersection near my house. Pre-roundabout, it was a bit of a thrill. As a driver, I never really knew what to expect and would default to a \u201che who hesitates is lost\u201d approach. As a pedestrian, a car came so close to mowing me down in one of the crosswalks that a police officer who was serendipitously on-the-scene decided to take a moment with the driver. Now the intersection is far less exciting. Traffic flows smoothly and safely as intended.<\/p>\n
This story illustrates how I feel about much of the experimental work that I do and what I see others do in academic and clinical labs. There is an existing infrastructure sometimes far below the cutting edge of science and technology that \u201cworks\u201d well enough to test your hypothesis and publish the paper you need for a better job where you can make others deal with the same inconvenient infrastructure. There are many logical reasons for sticking with what works, but, as in the case of the new roundabout, there is a point where superior technology becomes economical.<\/p>\n
The tools used to develop therapies for diabetes, in all its forms, also need an upgrade. As with most biomedical research, two complementary platforms are generally used. On the one hand, cultured cells are an inexpensive resource for early-stage high-throughput studies. On the other hand, animals provide a complex, physiological environment to more accurately predict what is happening in the human body. However, the limitations of existing animal and cell culture models are not addressed by simply using both. Microfluidic platforms have natural advantages over both traditional cell culture and animal models. There are of course limitations here as well and these pain points are opportunities for commercial development. The advantages and current limitations of using microfluidic models of human tissues and organs are listed below to encourage their commercial development and adoption for diabetes research.<\/p>\n
Diabetes research presents an exciting market opportunity for the development of microfluidic organ models and systems. The powerful advantages afforded by microfluidics<\/a> are much needed to complement (and perhaps eventually replace) traditional cell culture and animal testing. If designed appropriately for non-expert users and with the right biological questions in mind, these platforms will be adopted and more importantly will help pave the new and improved road to a cure.<\/p>\n References<\/strong><\/p>\n 1. Organ On Chips: Questions To Address Before They Can Move Into Mainstream Applications. URL: https:\/\/ufluidix.com\/circle\/organ-on-chips-questions-to-address-before-they-can-move-into-mainstream-applications\/<\/a> Enjoyed this article? Don\u2019t forget to share.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n
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\n2. King A. The use of animal models in diabetes research. British Journal of Pharmacology. 166(3) (2012).
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\n3. Yue F, Cheng Y, Breschi A, et al. A comparative encyclopedia of DNA elements in the mouse genome. Nature. 515(7527) (2014).
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\n4. https:\/\/www.fluigent.com\/microfluidic-expertise\/what-is-microfluidic\/microfluidic-definitions-and-advantages\/<\/a>
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