October 1, 2020

3D Cardiac Tissues Will Be Soon Nourished and Stimulated in a Compact Format

1.4mn euro project to Bi/ond-led consortium between Bi/ond, Fluigent and LUMC to develop the first Organ-on-Chip system that can keep complex 3D tissue models alive and mimic the physiological conditions of the human body.

Delft, Leiden and Paris – October 1, 2020 – BIOND Solutions B.V. (Bi/ond), Fluigent S.A.S. and the Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) joined forces to developt a compact Organ-on-Chip system for the heart.

The two companies will deliver the first-ever Organ-on-Chip (OoC) system that can keep complex 3D tissue models alive (through a vascularised channel, including microfluidic flow) while providing mechanical stimulation.

The 1.4mn euro CompactOoC-3D project has been funded by the EU under the EUROSTARS program. EUROSTARS supports the development of innovative products that impact people`s lives around the world. The grant has joint contributions from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) and Bpifrance.

The compact OoC system will integrate the Bi/ond OoC technology with the Fluigent perfusion system and it will be qualified by LUMC for 3D cardiac tissue models based on cardiomyocytes from human induced pluripotent stem cells.

This innovative solution will save biologists time and costs, it is compact and will be usable with minimal training.

Presently, this type of study is limited by the short time that 3D tissues cultured in vitro are viable.

“We want to radically improve the quality of research on 3D tissues models by developing a compact Organ-on-Chip solution combining organ-vessel interaction and ease of use. We are delighted to run this project with LUMC and Fluigent”, states Dr. Cinzia Silvestri, CEO and co-founder of Bi/ond.

The Bi/ond – Fluigent system will mimic the physiological conditions of the human body by providing mechanical stimulation experienced by cells in vivo, nutrients to the micro-tissue through a blood vessel, or mimicking the immune system (through delivery of fluids and/or immune cells in the microchannel system). The system will offer cell co-culture support to replicate tissue-tissue interfaces.

“The system that will emerge from this project will allow us to keep our complex 3D models in culture for longer periods of time. This is not just an incremental improvement but it will allow us to explore new types of biological questions such as what happens to the heart during long-term exposure to drugs used for example in chemotherapy”, states Berend van Meer, researcher and project coordinator of the LUMC.

The end-goal of the project is to develop and qualify an Organ-on-Chip system suitable for complex 3D tissue models, compact enough to fit into a standard incubator tray and usable by biologists accustomed to in vitro cultures.

“Enabling the development of technologies that have the potential to change and accelerate science research is at the core of Fluigent. This collaboration is a unique opportunity for Fluigent to make our premium instruments initially designed for experts in microfluidics accessible to biologists. Our high-performance systems combined with innovative 3D cellular models will allow to address questions that could not be tackled before due to technological limitations. Organ-on-chip will initiate a major shift in cell culture and Fluigent is thrilled to engage in it.” states Dr. France Hamber, CEO of Fluigent.

The collaboration between Bi/ond, Fluigent and LUMC combines cutting-edge technologies and world-leading science in a consortium that will unlock the full potential of OoC technology, and enable biologists to speed up their research by adopting a compact easy to use system.

About BIOND Solutions B.V.

Located in Delft, BIOND Solutions B.V. is a woman lead company specialized in developing the best hardware solutions to outperform the limitation of standard in vitro assays.

The company is a spin-off of the Delft University of Technology, one of the most prestigious of its kind in Europe. The unique expertise of the company lies in designing and manufacturing processing microfluidic devices based on the unique combination of silicon and polymer for Organ-on-Chip applications.

BI/OND bridges biology and engineering – through an amalgam of our in-depth knowledge of microelectronics and experience with biological solutions.

About Fluigent SAS

Located in Kremlin-Bicêtre, Fluigent SAS is a company leader in microfluidic recognized for its expertise and premium instrumentation dedicated to microfluidic fluid control. Over the years the company has developed fluid handling solutions based on its proprietary pressure control technology serving academics and industrials worldwide. Whether the application is with droplets, cell biology, particle studies, or in other research areas, the expertise and knowledge of Fluigent makes it one of the sole actor able to answer to any fluid control needs.

About Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Leiden University Medical Centre

LUMC is a modern university medical center for research, education and patient care with a high-quality profile and a strong scientific orientation. The Department of Anatomy and Embryology is specialized in stem cell research and differentiation to the cardiovascular lineage.

For further information

Bi/ond

Cinzia Silvestri

CEO and co-founder of Bi/ond.

Email: cinzia@biondteam.com

Nikolas Gaio

CTO and co-founder of Bi/ond.

Email: nikolas@biondteam.com

www.gobiond.com

Fluigent

France Hamber

CEO of Fluigent