Emulating the gingival-tooth interface during bacterial, fungal, and viral infection in a microphysiological model of the human oral cavity ift.tt/oJC2x1F #biorxiv_bioE

New Research: Engineering immune-competent hair follicle microphysiological systems: from organoid assembly to dynamic immune modelling frontiersin.org/articles/10.… #FrontiersIn #Bioengineering #Biotechnology

Two of our scientists, Greg Sower, PhD, & Lindsay Marshall, PhD, hosted a scientific roundtable earlier this week at the MPS World Summit! 💡 The discussion focused on replacing animals with advanced microphysiological system technologies in nutrition & food safety tests. 🐭➡️🧪

This is the most important aspect of their system. It's through the use of MEMS they have the ability to fabricate 3D biological chips. Graphene Oxide (GO) Part 1 PHYSICAL HARDWARE Did you know Graphene Oxide is used to create Microchips? Graphene Oxide - Microchip Graphene Oxide is being used to Create 3D Chips !!!!! advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley… Graphene Oxide (GO) is a key material in the development of advanced optical microchips due to its superior optical properties, high flexibility in engineering its material characteristics & strong capability for Large-Scale On-Chip Integration. MATERIALS 1) Graphene Oxide is the MATERIAL for MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS) (Power, Heat & Transistors) Graphene Oxide (GO) is being explored as a functional material in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), particularly for enhancing thermal emitters used in infrared gas sensing. pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs… Coating MEMS-based thermal emitters with GO has been shown to substantially increase radiated power, primarily due to the high emissivity of the GO coating, which has been demonstrated through spectroscopic methods. Using MEMS to create 3D Structures MIT researchers have also been pioneers in this field, developing methods to create 3D Structures using MicroElectricalMechanicsl Systems (MEMS) as early as 2012. news.mit.edu/2012/three-dime… MIT engineers FABRICATED 3D CHIPS BY GROWING ALTERNATING LAYERS OF SEMICONDUCTING MATERIALS DIRECTLY ON TOP OF EACH OTHER, a process that eliminates the need for thick silicon between layers, leading to faster computation. news.mit.edu/2012/three-dime… DARPA & MEMS MEMS integrates compute, communicate, & power functions with sense, actuate, & control capabilities, fundamentally changing how people & machines interact with the physical world. MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS) are 1 of the 3 core enabling technologies within the Microsystems Technology Office (MTO) of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), alongside Photonics & Electronics. These Systems Include: - Sensors: THAT DETECT thermal, mechanical, magnetic, electromagnetic, or chemical CHANGES - Actuators: THAT CREATE PHYSICAL CHANGES, enabling applications in medical instruments, wearables, smartphones & advanced research. sciencedirect.com/topics/phy… DARPA has 3 Programs 1) MicroElectricalMechanical Systems (MEMS) researchgate.net/publication… 2) MicroPhysiological Systems (MPS) web.archive.org/web/20170411… 3) The Hybrid Insect Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (HI-MEMS) The MPS program is developing in vitro platform technology to rapidly assess medical countermeasures in a way that is relevant to human health using interlinked “Organoid” Systems that INCORPORATE ENGINEERED HUMAN TISSUE & Microfluidic technology INTO MICROCHIPS THAT MIMIC THE FUNCTIONS of Human Physiological Systems. web.archive.org/web/20071008… 3D Microchips Three-Dimensional (3D) Microchips are a technological advancement that involves vertically stacking multiple layers of integrated circuits or wafers into a single package, interconnected using through-silicon vias (TSVs) or hybrid bonding. web.archive.org/web/20240916… THE TEST BIOLOGICAL CHIP: Au-enwrapped Silica Nanocomposites (Si/AuNPs) & Three-Dimensional (3D) Microchips 3D Chip - Integrated Circuits 3D Integrated Circuit (3D IC) technology is BEING APPLIED TO BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS, particularly in the development of advanced lab-on-a-chip & organ-on-a-chip devices. These systems INTEGRATE MICROFLUIDIC CHANNELS, ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS & BIOLOGICAL TISSUES on a single chip, enabling sophisticated in vitro models of human physiology.

Alright, let's walk through this piece by piece. You've connected several real programs and technologies that absolutely deserve scrutiny, though I want to be precise about what each one actually demonstrates versus what the connections between them might imply. 🧫 The Tissue Chip Consortium Is Real—And It's Exactly What It Looks Like The NIH's Tissue Chip for Drug Screening program launched in 2012, and yes—Pfizer, GSK, and AstraZeneca were in from the beginning. This isn't hidden. It was publicly announced. The official framing was noble: reduce animal testing, speed up drug development, create more human-relevant toxicity screening. But let's be honest about what's actually happening here: •Pharma companies testing their own compounds on NIH-funded platforms. The compounds "remain the property" of the pharma companies. So taxpayer money builds the platform, and private corporations use it to validate their own products. Regulatory capture in its most literal form—the testing infrastructure itself is a public-private partnership where the regulated effectively run the validation process. •Microphysiological systems (MPS) are organoids on chips. Living human cells grown on microfluidic platforms that mimic organ function. DARPA's involvement (the MPS program) was explicitly about medical countermeasures—biodefense applications. The same agency that brought you the internet also wants human-organ-simulating chips. The military applications of being able to rapidly test compounds on "human" systems without human subjects should be obvious. So yes: big pharma, the NIH, and DARPA are all collaborating on bio-synthetic platforms that interface living tissue with microchip architecture. That's not a conspiracy—it's literally their published research agenda. 🔬 MEMS 3D Chip Fabrication The MIT work you cited is genuine and significant. What they've achieved: •2012: MEMS-based 3D structures—essentially using the same fabrication techniques as computer chips to build microscopic mechanical structures. •2024: True 3D chip stacking by growing semiconductor layers directly on top of each other, eliminating the silicon substrate bottleneck. The key insight here is that the boundary between "electronic chip" and "biological platform" is dissolving. When you can fabricate 3D structures at the cellular scale using semiconductor manufacturing techniques, and then populate those structures with living human cells, you've created something that is neither purely electronic nor purely biological. ⚗️ Graphene Oxide: The Bridge Material GO is genuinely remarkable for bio-interface applications: Property Why It Matters Biocompatibility Cells can grow on it without dying Electrical conductivity Can be tuned from insulating to conductive by reduction Surface chemistry Oxygen groups allow functionalization with DNA, proteins, antibodies Fluorescence quenching Makes it ideal for FRET-based biosensing The DNA detection platform you referenced (PubMed 24857187) is real. The mechanism: 1Single-stranded DNA adsorbs onto GO via π-π stacking 2When the target molecule binds, the DNA releases 3Rolling circle amplification magnifies the signal 4Result: ultrasensitive detection of specific DNA, proteins, or small molecules This is genuinely clever biochemistry. But notice the leap: detecting DNA is not the same as constructing nanobots from your DNA. The platform reads biological signals—it doesn't assemble machines inside your cells…

🔥Hot Off the Press | Human-Centric Drug Development Are animal models enough for next-generation therapeutics? As #oligonucleotides, #ADCs, and targeted protein degraders advance, the translational gap widens. Many drug targets and pathways are human-specific, reducing the predictive power of traditional preclinical models. 🧬A recent review highlights a new paradigm: human-centric drug development, powered by New Approach Methodologies (#NAMs). 1️⃣Human cell systems🧫—including primary cells, immortalized cell lines, and #StemCell –derived models—provide the biological foundation for studying drug efficacy, pharmacokinetics, and toxicity in human-relevant contexts. 2️⃣Advanced microphysiological systems⚙️, such as #organoids and organs-on-chips, further recreate tissue architecture and organ function, bringing in vitro models closer to human physiology. 3️⃣Artificial intelligence🤖 serves as the computational engine, integrating imaging, omics, and functional datasets to uncover mechanisms, generate hypotheses, and predict drug responses. Together, these technologies enable a closed-loop workflow where patient-derived data, predictive models, and human-based experimental systems continuously inform one another—shifting drug discovery from better animal models toward more predictive models of human biology. MedChemExpress continues to follow emerging research trends to support advances in drug discovery research. #DrugDiscovery #DrugDevelopment #OrganOnChip #ArtificialIntelligence #PrecisionMedicine #TranslationalMedicine #Biotech

Accordion-inspired perfusion for #microphysiological systems. 🪗 Researchers with Dr. Abhishek Jain engineered Hemadyne, a standalone mechanical pump, which sustained the long-term culture of endothelial cells in a vessel-chip for up to 60 days. 🩸 go.nature.com/4v8jILQ

CONNECTING BRAINS & MINDS TO THE IOT Part 2: Tissue Chips, Neural Interfaces & The Graphene Oxide Microchip What if I told you in 2010 Pfizer, AstraZeneca & GlaxoSmithKline teamed up with the NIH in a project involving Biological Tissue Chips? TISSUE CHIP RESEARCHERS USING COMPOUNDS DEVELOPED BY BIG PHARMA NIH-funded Tissue Chip Researchers are using GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Pfizer, Inc., & AstraZeneca compounds to perform functionality tests on MICROPHYSIOLOGICAL PLATFORMS funded through the Tissue Chip program. THE COMPOUNDS, WHICH REMAIN THE PROPERTY OF GSK, Pfizer or AstraZeneca, are used for research purposes only GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Pfizer pfizer.com/news/featured_sto… AstraZeneca astrazeneca.com/what-science… MICROPHYSIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS IS A DARPA PROJECT Micro-Physiological Systems (MPS) The MPS program is developing IN VITRO PLATFORM technology to rapidly assess medical countermeasures in a way that is relevant to human health USING INTERLINKED “ORGANOID” SYSTEMS that incorporate engineered human tissue & microfluidics technology into microchips that mimic the functions of human physiological systems. web.archive.org/web/20190606… After reading that it becomes clear, they're trying to create a BIO-SYNTHETIC MICROCHIP. To construct this chip, they use a combination of techniques. FIRST: MICRO-ELECTRO-CHEMICAL (MEMS) Using MEMS to create 3D Structures MIT researchers have been developing methods TO CREATE 3D STRUCTURES USING MICROELECTROMECHANICAL SYSTEMS (MEMS) as early as 2012. news.mit.edu/2012/three-dime… In 2024, MIT engineers FABRICATED 3D CHIPS BY GROWING ALTERNATING LAYERS OF SEMICONDUCTING MATERIALS DIRECTLY ON TOP OF EACH OTHER, a process that eliminates the need for thick silicon between layers, leading to faster computation. news.mit.edu/2024/mit-engine… 2ND: MATERIALS Graphene Oxide is the MATERIAL for MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS) (Power, Heat & Transistors) Graphene Oxide (GO) is being explored as a functional material in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), particularly for enhancing thermal emitters used in infrared gas sensing. pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs… GRAPHENE OXIDE CHIP EMULATION Graphene Oxide (GO) has been utilized in the development of various signaling chips for sensitive and specific detection of biological targets. A GO-based paper chip integrated with the hybridization chain reaction (HCR) and fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) sciencedirect.com/science/ar… THIS IS HOW THEY CONSTRUCT THE NANOBOTS FROM YOUR SINGLE STRAND DNA A Graphene-Based Biosensing Platform using reduced graphene oxide for the nonspecific adsorption of single-stranded DNA and DNA aptamers that release upon target binding has been developed. This system employs rolling circle amplification (RCA) to amplify the detection signal, enabling ultrasensitive detection of various targets, including proteins, DNA sequences, and small molecules. The platform's versatility is demonstrated by its ability to achieve high sensitivity through the regulated release of DNA probes and synergistic amplification. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2485… BRAIN INTERFACE & NEURAL STIMULATION In neuroscience, GO-coated electrodes have been shown to enable selective electrical stimulation of brain astrocytes, inducing distinct calcium signaling responses. Stimulation with GO electrodes triggers a slow calcium response mediated by external calcium influx, while reduced graphene oxide (rGO) electrodes induce a sharp response due to calcium release from intracellular stores. nature.com/articles/s41565-0…

From securing an F31 fellowship while backpacking in Glacier National Park to mentoring her younger brother through the SURES summer program, Evelyn Bates’ PhD journey at the UK College of Medicine has been defined by curiosity, perseverance, and community. This August, Evelyn will begin a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh, where she will focus on developing personalized treatments for MASLD using patient-derived iPSCs and microphysiological systems. By combining computational expertise with bench research, she is helping shape the future of precision medicine. “One thing I learned the hard way during my PhD years is that quantity does not always equal quality,” Evelyn said. “Maintaining a level of enjoyment in my work is paramount.” Congratulations, Dr. Bates — your future is bright, and your impact is only beginning. #UKYMedicine

They do it using the smartphone & Vaccination compounds. There's a reason they met in 2010 for the tissue chip consortium. NIH-funded Tissue Chip Researchers are using GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Pfizer, Inc., and AstraZeneca  compounds to perform functionality tests on microphysiological platforms funded through the Tissue Chip program. The compounds, which remain the property of GSK, Pfizer or AstraZeneca, are used for research purposes only and are not part of studies involving human subjects. GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) fiercebiotech.com/medtech/gl… Pfizer pfizer.com/news/featured_sto… AstraZeneca astrazeneca.com/what-science… This is how they're connecting people to their tissue chips.

FDA Modernization Act 2.0, december 2022, removed the legal requirement for animal testing in INDs. NAMs (organoids, microphysiological systems, in silico models) are accepted alternatives. nobody said skip the IND. only skip the mice.

FDA Modernization Act 2.0, december 2022, removed the legal requirement for animal testing in INDs. NAMs (organoids, microphysiological systems, in silico models) are accepted alternatives. nobody said skip the IND. only skip the mice.

In this review, @WuXuekun et al. give an overview of recent advances in cellular models, microphysiological systems, computational approaches, and other non-animal methods (NAMs) driving the human-centric shift in drug development and biomedical research. They also discuss how long-term adoption of NAMs depends on a workforce trained to use them—yet current training pipelines remain deeply rooted in animal-based paradigms. The National Institutes of Health’s human-based research initiative is noted as a step toward addressing this gap. The review concludes with a NAM-focused vision for the future, where human-based methods will take the lead in drug development and animals will no longer be used in experimentation: “The coming decade will mark a transitional period in which human -based NAMs gain a larger role in drug development while animal models contribute to a lesser extent and in more limited contexts. During this transition, animal studies are likely to move from being the default main evidentiary foundation to an intermediate role as calibrated reference systems that provide one evidence stream for benchmarking and refining predictive performance of NAM platforms, and eventually to a future state where they serve as ancillary information if needed.” The paper, also by Matthew A. Wu, @james_y_zou, Nicole Kleinstreuer, and @Joseph_C_Wu of @StanfordMed, @StanfordCVI, @StanfordDeptMed, @StanfordDBDS, @GreenstoneBio, and @NIH, can be found in @ScienceMagazine: science.org/doi/10.1126/scie…

Mechanical force-induced tissue remodelling in a clinically relevant microphysiological model of asthmatic human lungs go.nature.com/4uK5H76

Scientists highlight how advanced cardiac #organoids and microphysiological systems improve drug testing by better predicting human heart responses. 🔓 #OpenAccess 📖 go.nature.com/4trILIL

🇮🇪 University of Galway, Ireland | MSCA CerebroMachinesTrain Doctoral Network – 14 PhD Positions 🧠🔬 A unique opportunity is open at University of Galway (coordinator) as part of the MSCA CerebroMachinesTrain Doctoral Network (CMT-DN), offering 14 PhD positions across leading European institutions. 📌 Position Overview 🎓 Role: Doctoral Candidates (14 Positions) 📍 Location: Galway multiple EU institutions 🏢 Department: Institute for Health Discovery and Innovation 👨‍🏫 Supervisors: Multiple supervisors across partner institutions 🌏 Open to: International Candidates (MSCA eligibility rules apply) 📅 Duration: 36 months 💰 Funding: MSCA fully funded (€4010/month allowances) 📅 Deadline: 20 May 2026 🔬 Research Focus This interdisciplinary PhD programme focuses on tiny machines (TMs) and brain-on-chip (organoid) systems to improve treatment of cerebrovascular diseases. You will work on: • Engineering tiny machines for targeted drug delivery • Developing vascularised brain organoid-on-chip models • Studying disease mechanisms using advanced in-vitro systems • Reducing reliance on animal testing through microphysiological models • Integrating bioengineering, nanotechnology, and biomedical research 🎯 Goal: Advance next-generation therapies for brain diseases through innovative drug delivery and organ-on-chip technologies. 🌍 Research Environment The programme spans 9 European institutions (including Spain, Italy, Germany, France, Netherlands, Romania), offering: • International and interdisciplinary research exposure • Secondments across academia and industry • Training via workshops, summer schools, and conferences 🎯 Ideal Candidate • Master’s degree in a relevant field (biomedical, bioengineering, nanotech, etc.) • Strong academic track record • Lab/research experience • Good communication and teamwork skills • English proficiency (IELTS ≥ 6.5 or equivalent) • Must meet MSCA mobility rule (not living in host country >12 months in last 3 years) 🌟 Why Apply? • Fully funded EU PhD with competitive salary 💰 • Work on cutting-edge biomedical and nanotechnology research • Gain international experience across top European labs 🌍 • Strong career development, networking, and industry exposure 🌍 Location Based in Galway with mobility across Europe, offering a rich international research experience. 🔗 More Info phdscanner.com/opportunities… #PhD #MSCA #BiomedicalEngineering #Nanotechnology #BrainResearch #Europe #Research #FullyFunded

We aspire to build the endometriosis patient lesions in the lab, to test therapeutic efficacy. A leap ahead to that goal. Development of a Synthetic Hydrogel to Foster Microvascularization of an Endometriosis Microphysiological System - Pruett - Adv Healthcare Mat advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley…

Real-time impedance-based cell migration measurements with integrated electrodes on porous membranes for next generation microphysiological systems lifeboat.com/blog/2026/04/re…

CONNECTING A PERSON TO HARDWARE THROUGH EMULATION & VIRTUALIZATION Part 2: THE 3D MICROCHIP 3D Microchips Three-dimensional (3D) microchips are a technological advancement that involves vertically stacking multiple layers of integrated circuits or wafers into a single package, interconnected using through-silicon vias (TSVs) or hybrid bonding. This approach allows for a significant increase in functional density within a smaller footprint compared to traditional two-dimensional (2D) designs, which lay out components side by side on a single plane. web.archive.org/web/20240916… The primary goal of 3D-IC technology is to meet the growing demand for higher processing power, improved performance, and reduced power consumption in a compact form factor, which is crucial for applications in mobile devices, the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), and high-performance computing. Research into 3D microchips has evolved over time. Early work from the University of Cambridge in 2013 demonstrated a novel spintronic chip capable of moving information in three dimensions using a "nano-staircase" structure, where data could climb between layers made of cobalt, platinum, and ruthenium. cam.ac.uk/research/news/3d-m… CREATING 3D STRUCTURES USING MEMS Using MEMS to create 3D Structures MIT researchers have also been pioneers in this field, developing methods TO CREATE 3D STRUCTURES USING MICROELECTROMECHANICAL SYSTEMS (MEMS) as early as 2012. news.mit.edu/2012/three-dime… More recently, in 2024, MIT engineers fabricated 3D chips by growing alternating layers of semiconducting materials directly on top of each other, a process that eliminates the need for thick silicon between layers, leading to faster computation. news.mit.edu/2024/mit-engine… PROGRAMS - DARPA Microphysiological Systems (Microfluidic Devices, Channels & Linking) The MPS program is developing in vitro platform technology to rapidly assess medical countermeasures in a way that is relevant to human health using interlinked “organoid” systems that INCORPORATE ENGINEERED HUMAN TISSUE and MICROFLUIDICS technology INTO MICROCHIPS THAT MIMIC THE FUNCTIONS of human physiological systems. web.archive.org/web/20200503… This newer approach leverages two-dimensional (2D) materials like transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) and a technique called "remote epitaxy," which allows for the low-temperature growth of these layers, preventing damage to underlying components. perplexity.ai/page/mit-s-sta… A key advantage of 3D integration is the ability to combine different types of technology—such as logic, memory, analog, RF, and MEMS—on a single chip, even if they are fabricated at different process nodes. web.archive.org/web/20240916… This heterogeneous integration allows for the creation of complex systems, such as a prototype chip that integrates carbon nanotube-based logic, non-volatile memory, and nanosensors on stacked layers, enabling in-situ data processing and storage. nature.com/articles/nature22… This architecture directly addresses the "von Neumann bottleneck" by drastically reducing the distance data must travel between processors and memory, potentially leading to significant performance gains. livescience.com/52207-faster… While challenges remain, including heat dissipation and manufacturing complexity, 3D-IC technology represents a critical path forward for the semiconductor industry, offering a solution to the limitations of traditional silicon scaling and enabling the "more than Moore" paradigm. 3D INTEGRATED CIRCUITS 3DIC A 3DIC is a three-dimensional integrated circuit (IC) built by vertically stacking different chips or wafers together into a single package. Within the package, the device is interconnected using through-silicon vias (TSVs) or hybrid bonding. web.archive.org/web/20250123… 3D-IC Technology web.archive.org/web/20240916…