11210E500100 College of Engineering Seminar

TOPIC
▸　Recapitulating Tumor Microenvironments Using Microfluidics for Advancing Drug Development

Abstract
❝　Drug development represents a complex and resource-intensive process that traditionally relies on animal models to evaluate the efficacy and safety of novel drug candidates. However, these models possess inherent limitations and may not faithfully predict drug behavior in humans. In recent years, significant progress has been made in leveraging microfluidic technology to faithfully recapitulate the pathophysiology of human diseases in vitro. This advancement provides a more precise and streamlined approach to investigate human biology and disease, while simultaneously reducing the reliance on animal models for drug testing purposes. In the pursuit of showcasing the immense potential of this technology, our research focuses on the design of advanced disease models that accurately replicate the tumor microenvironment for drug testing applications. These microfluidic devices offer notable advantages, including user-friendly operation for cell loading, culturing, and observation. For instance, the incorporation of a plug-and-play design streamlines experimental setup, effectively mitigating initial culture failure. Furthermore, we have developed a pressure-assisted network for droplet accumulation (PANDA) system, comprising a multichannel flow, enabling the creation of uniform and controllable three-dimensional microenvironments within hanging drops. Additionally, we present the dual culture system (dual-CS), which supports simultaneous drug testing within two independent culture units, facilitated by a single peristaltic pump. Moreover, we have developed an ex-vivo tumor culture device that faithfully replicates oxygen and drug-gradient microenvironments, thus enabling the screening of drug responses to combination immunotherapy. These exemplars effectively demonstrate the remarkable potential of microfluidic technology in the realms of drug discovery and clinical drug evaluation. By providing a more ethical, accurate, and efficient approach to studying human biology and disease, this technology holds promise for yielding improved healthcare outcomes for patients.　❞

Reference
1.　W.-H. Lai, H.‐Y. Mu, Y.‐L Lu, H. Chen, J.-W. Wen, H.-J. Wu, C.-M. Cheng, J.-H. Huang*. Dual-Cell Culture System with Identical Culture Environment for Comparison of Anti-Cancer Drug Toxicity. Chemical Engineering Science, 2022, 253: 117555.
2.　C.-Y. Cho, T.-H. Chiang, L.-H. Hsieh, W.-Y. Yang, H.-H. Hsu, C.-K. Yeh, C.-C. Huang*, J.-H. Huang*. Development of a Novel Hanging Drop Platform for Engineering Controllable 3D Microenvironments. Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, 2020, 8:327.
3.　B.-S. Ni, C. Tzao, J.-H. Huang*. Plug-and-Play In Vitro Metastasis System toward Recapitulating the Metastatic Cascade. Scientific Reports, 2019, 9: 18110.
 

SPEAKER
▸　Prof. Jen-Huang HUANG *
▸　Department of Chemical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University

TIME
▸　2023/12/12 (TUE) 13:20 ~ 15:10

VENUE
▸　Classroom 202, Chemical Engineering Building