I-Corps: Translation Potential of an Advanced Microfluidic Platform for High Throughput Cancer Modeling and Drug Screening

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of an injection-molded, organ on-a-chip microfluidic platform engineered for high-throughput usage in oncology drug screening and cancer disease modeling applications. Microfluidic and organ-on-a-chip technologies are poised to replace ineffective preclinical platforms (e.g., animal models and two-dimensional cell culture systems) traditionally used within pharmaceutical drug research and development. However, current soft-lithography microfabrication techniques are time-consuming and labor-intensive. Moreover, the primary polymeric material, polydimethylsiloxane, is prone to drug adsorption and leaching. These factors ultimately hinder the mass production of microfluidic technology for disease modeling and drug screening development applications. By leveraging precision micro injection molding, the proposed technology aims to address the critical need within the cancer disease modeling and oncology drug development sectors for more cost-effective, time-efficient, and physiologically relevant tools for oncology disease modeling and drug screening. The need for an innovative human tissue platform applies to a variety of other biotech industries and academic biomedical research laboratories outside the area of cancer research. More broadly, the proposed technology has significant potential to assist researchers in obtaining physiologically relevant and clinical data for human tissue and disease modeling, drug screening efforts, and the development of personalized medicine. 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. This solution is based on the development of human disease on-a-chip technologies that have been designed and extensively validated to accurately recapitulate the human tissue and tumor microenvironments. More specifically, the proposed technology builds upon foundational research in human organoid technologies that have resulted in a better understanding of the biological mechanisms of complex diseases and cancers such as glioblastoma and metastatic breast cancer and have led to the discovery of novel pathways and genes which could benefit patients' treatment outcomes and survival. The technology comprises modular microfluidic devices, injection-molded in a biocompatible, optically clear thermoplastic material, that houses a biomimetic, three-dimensional, tumor microenvironment for accurate recapitulation of physiologically relevant human tissue and organs of interest. The modular devices are accompanied by a custom microplate, designed per ANSI microplate dimension standards, for ease of handling, storage, and high-throughput experimentation. Initial prototyping phases of the proposed platform demonstrated that the platform is suitable for cell culture and its design is compatible with precision micro injection molding design-for-manufacturing requirements. 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.