In October 2023, the research team of Southeast University made a remarkable breakthrough in the field of precision medicine: successfully developed an advanced "human organ chip".
As early as 2016, the biomedical technology of human organ chips was selected as one of the "Top ten emerging technologies" by the World Economic Forum in Davos, and is considered to be the key core technology that China needs to overcome in the field of biomedicine.
What is human organ-on-a-chip technology?
The "human organ on a chip" is not a single scientific achievement, but the cross-integration of multiple cutting-edge technologies such as stem cell science, biomaterials engineering, and nanomachine technology.
These chips are a highly complex organ microphysiological system built outside the body that can mimic various functions of human tissue.
Such a design not only reduces the need for animal and human testing, but also enables more efficient screening and evaluation of potential new drugs, thus greatly accelerating the drug development process.
In the process of this technological breakthrough, nanomaterials have played a crucial role.
Because of their extremely small size and highly specific physical and chemical properties, nanomaterials can simulate cellular structure and function in biological systems.
These nanomaterials are commonly used in a variety of ways to build and support the microstructures of human organ chips, providing conditions that more closely resemble the environment in living organisms, and thus making drug test results more accurate.
China has developed human organ chips! Could replace animal testing to accelerate the development of new drugs
FIG. 1 Multicompartment lymph node microchips can measure the motility of immune cell responses to drugs. Image source: References [1]
Nanomaterials: the magic stones of the microscopic world
Nanomaterials, advanced materials that are at the nanoscale in size, have attracted widespread attention from the scientific community and industry.
A nanometer is an extremely tiny unit of length, only a billionth of a meter. Because it is so small in scale, it is completely beyond the detection capability of human vision.
China has developed human organ chips! Could replace animal testing to accelerate the development of new drugs
Morphology of nano-powder under electron microscope. Image source: References [2]
Human hair is about 80,000 to 100,000 nanometers wide, so the nanoscale is only one hundred-thousandth of the width of the hair; The average paper is about 100,000 nanometers thick, which means that the nanoscale is only one hundred-thousandth of that; Human fingernails grow about 1 nanometer per second.
When substances are reduced to the nanometer scale, their properties, such as color, strength, electrical conductivity and chemical reactivity, tend to change significantly.
These changes are mainly due to the fact that at the nanoscale, the ratio of surface area to volume of matter increases greatly, while quantum effects also begin to become significant.
This phenomenon gives nanomaterials great potential for applications in many fields, including health care, energy and information technology.
Organ-on-a-chip design concept
Organ-on-a-chip is not only a miracle of bioengineering, but also a product of the intersection of cell biology and materials science.
These chips do not aim to replicate a complete, living organ, but rather mimic the basic function of a human organ by assembling cultured cells into three-dimensional tissue structures, with the central goal of building a controllable minimum functional unit that mimics the human physiological state.
Organ-on-a-chip combines the convenience of traditional human cell culture methods with the high biological fidelity of organ systems.
Through simple but sophisticated engineering, these chips are able to build the smallest units that can predict organ function.
Using organ-on-a-chip technology, scientists and doctors can not only collect diverse information about human genetics, physiology, and pathology, but also greatly reduce risks in the drug development process and further promote the implementation of precision medicine.
China has developed human organ chips! Could replace animal testing to accelerate the development of new drugs
Diagram of interconnecting organ chips. Image source: References [3]
Multiple applications of nanomaterials in science and technology
Nanomaterials are playing an increasingly important role in multiple fields of science and technology, not only bringing revolutionary changes, but also solving a range of long-standing problems.
In materials science, nanotechnology has made unprecedented breakthroughs.
Carbon nanotubes, for example, are not only super durable, but also extremely lightweight. This excellent performance makes it widely used in equipment such as aircraft, high-end automobiles and precision scientific instruments.
Carbon nanotubes can significantly reduce the overall weight of these devices, thereby significantly improving their operational efficiency and performance.
Not only that, in daily life, nano-ceramic knives have also received widespread attention, and their quality is only one-sixth of that of steel, but their hardness is a hundred times that of steel.
Nanomaterials also have great potential in the medical field. These materials can not only facilitate more efficient drug manufacturing, but also deliver therapeutic drugs directly to the site of the lesion through nanoscale precision delivery.
This technique significantly improves the therapeutic effectiveness of the drug, while also greatly reducing the side effects on patients.
For example, research has shown that the use of biomimetic nanomaterials for drug delivery can improve the stability of nanostructures and reduce drug leakage, leading to more accurate and efficient cancer treatment.
In addition, nanotechnology is also being used to produce bionic medical materials, such as artificial joints and artificial organs, bringing new innovation opportunities to the medical field.
Nanomaterials also perform well in terms of energy and environmental protection. For example, researchers from Lanzhou University and People's Friendship University of Russia have developed a nano-mixed catalyst that can quickly remove contaminants from water without any strong aggressive solvents.
This nanomaterial can efficiently remove various dyes from aqueous solutions in just a few minutes, thus greatly improving the efficiency of water treatment and making a positive contribution to our environmental protection.
Nanomaterials, like the "Lego" of science and technology, have shown remarkable application prospects in various fields. From high-performance devices to medical research to environmental protection, the application of nanomaterials is bringing profound impact and positive change to our lives.
In general, the range of applications of nanomaterials is constantly expanding, bringing great benefits to various fields of human society.
In the future, with the continuous progress of science and technology, it is believed that the application prospects of nanomaterials will be broader and bring more possibilities to our lives.
reference
[1] N. Hallfors, A. Shanti, et al. Multi-Compartment Lymph-Node-on-a-Chip Enables Measurement of Immune Cell Motility in Response to Drugs. Bioengineering 2021, 8(2), 19.
[2]Wei Li et al. Programmable synthesis of radially gradient-structured mesoporous carbon nanospheres with tunable core-shell architectures. Chem, 2021, 7, 1020-1032.
[3] K. R. Bouchard, G. Vunjak-Novakovic. Organs-on-a-Chip: A fast track for engineered human tissues in drug development. Cell Stem Cell 2018, 22, 310-324.
[4] Su, J., Musgrave, C.B., Song, Y. et al. Strain enhances the activity of molecular electrocatalysts via carbon nanotube supports. Nat. Catal. 2023, 6, 818-828.
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