I-Corps: Translation Potential of a Cell Culture Platform to Model Dynamic Drug Concentrations In Vitro

The broader impact of this I-Corps project is the development of an automated cell culture platform to enhance the predictive accuracy of preclinical drug testing. This innovation promises to make the process of testing potential new medicines cheaper, faster, and more effective. By mimicking the changes in drug concentration that occur in the human body, the technology can better predict safety issues and treatment effectiveness earlier in drug development. This automated system improves research efficiency, resulting in lower drug development costs, saving both drug developers and patients money. This I-Corps project utilizes experiential learning coupled with a first-hand investigation of the industry ecosystem to assess the translation potential of the technology. The project is based on the development of an automated instrument that can precisely adjust drug concentrations in a cell culture dish over time. The technology builds on prior studies showing that cells respond differently depending on the rate of exposure. This system will be used to replicate the drug exposure of cells in the human body during the course of drug treatment. Currently, the information gained by these experiments is impossible to attain without the use of poorly predictive animal studies or expensive and time-consuming organ-on-a-chip experiments. The system promises to accelerate pharmaceutical development through enhanced productivity and predictive accuracy of early-stage drug screening. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.