CanChip

The vascularized tumor-on-chip used a removable 200 µm needle to form a circular endothelial lumen within collagen-I, surrounded by patient-derived cancer cells, CAFs, and CD8+ T cells! In this study by Christine Lansche, PhD et al., researchers created a patient-derived vascularized lung tumor-on-chip around a 3.75 mm-long circular microvessel. A removable 200 µm needle formed the lumen within collagen-I, while cancer cells, CAFs, and CD8+ T cells were embedded in the surrounding matrix. The resulting vessel had an average diameter of 209 µm and 92.5% cell viability. Within 24 hours, endothelial cells formed a continuous VE-cadherin+/ZO-1+ barrier, reducing dextran permeability by approximately 62% compared with acellular channels. The model also reproduced tumor-induced endothelial anergy. Cancer cells and CAFs downregulated an average of 64.5% of detected immunomodulatory endothelial genes, including reduced VCAM-1 across all tested co-cultures. By integrating endothelial, cancer, fibroblast, and immune cells from the same patient, this design offers a relevant platform for studying how tumor vasculature limits immune-cell infiltration. Are you exploring vascular–immune interactions in your cancer models? Contact us today! ---- Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/dDvJ3XiN

Let's start with a single chip. Not because one chip is enough to complete a study. It isn't. Good science demands reproducibility. Experiments are repeated, protocols are optimized, variables are controlled, and results are validated. That's how meaningful discoveries are made. But every new idea starts somewhere. Before the large studies, before the funding, before the publications, there is usually one prototype. One experiment. One model built to answer one important question. We all were there! We still remember those days in academia, when every experiment had to be carefully planned because budgets were limited. Many researchers in universities and early-stage biotech companies are in that position today. They don't need hundreds of chips on day one. They need the opportunity to test an idea, generate the first data, and take the next step with confidence. That's why, at CanChip, we believe innovation shouldn't be limited by project size. Whether you need a single customized chip to evaluate a concept or a larger batch for an advanced study, we want to help researchers move from an idea to evidence. Because every platform we use today once started as someone's first prototype. And every breakthrough once started with a single experiment. Let’s start with small steps! We are here for you :)

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝘅𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗡𝗔𝗠 𝗮𝗱𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻? Because toxicity is NOT a single-organ, single-dose, or immediate response! Safety assessment may need to capture: • Metabolism, distribution, and clearance • Systemic and off-target organ effects • Repeated dosing and cumulative exposure • Delayed toxicity • Exposure–response relationships over time Human-relevant NAMs can help identify tissue-specific risks, investigate toxicity mechanisms, and improve candidate selection. However, scientific capability alone is not enough for regulatory adoption. Models must also demonstrate a clear context of use, reproducible protocols, relevant endpoints, and reliable performance against reference compounds and known human outcomes. This is where CanChip can support challenging toxicology studies. We design customized, human-cell-based Organ-on-Chip models around the specific safety question, combining 3D tissues, multicellular co-culture, physiologically relevant flow, controlled compound exposure, and real-time imaging. From pilot studies to expanded programs, we provide end-to-end support from chip design and fabrication to compound testing, data analysis, and reporting!

𝗘𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗰𝘆. 𝗦𝗮𝗳𝗲𝘁𝘆. 𝗣𝗞/𝗣𝗗. 𝗕𝗶𝗼𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆.  𝗘𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹. A newly published analysis of 60 clinical attrition datasets, covering 1963-2017, found that approximately 77% of reported drug failures were associated with biological factors, including insufficient efficacy, safety concerns, unfavorable PK/PD, and limited bioavailability. These outcomes cannot necessarily be predicted using the same experimental design. But each requires a different experimental design: - Efficacy: disease-relevant cells and microenvironment - Safety: tissue-specific toxicity and appropriate exposure - PK/PD: controlled dosing, perfusion, and dynamic readouts - Bioavailability: functional barriers, transport, and tissue penetration For Organ-on-Chip and other new approach methodologies, model design should therefore begin with a clear question: 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗯𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘆 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲? At CanChip, we develop customizable chip platforms around specific experimental questions, from initial studies with a small number of chips to larger-scale applications! ➡️ Read the article here: https://lnkd.in/eVMkMevd

🧠 Today is World Brain Day. It reminds us that one of the biggest challenges in brain cancer research isn't only discovering better therapies. It's making sure they reach the tumor. Glioblastoma remains one of the most aggressive brain cancers, with median survival still around 15 months despite surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. The blood-brain barrier protects the brain, but it also prevents many promising therapies from reaching their target. That's why researchers are increasingly developing glioma-on-chip models that integrate functional BBB components, allowing drug transport and anti-tumor activity to be studied within the same human-relevant platform. At CanChip, this is exactly the kind of challenge we are passionate about solving. Because before asking whether a therapy works, we should first ask: Can it get there? -- 🧠 Are you working on glioblastoma research? Have you explored on-chip technologies to study the blood-brain barrier or tumor microenvironment? We'd love to hear about your experience and the challenges you've encountered.

One chip cannot answer every biological question! We all knew it. A microphysiological system designed to study metastatic dissemination requires extracellular matrix remodeling, invasion pathways, and cell migration under dynamic flow. A blood-brain barrier model must reproduce endothelial tight junctions, selective permeability, and transport mechanisms. An immuno-oncology platform should capture interactions between tumor cells, immune cells, stromal components, and cytokine signaling. A model developed to evaluate drug penetration needs physiologically relevant tissue architecture, controlled perfusion, and concentration gradients. Although these are all Organ-on-Chip systems, they are answering fundamentally different biological questions! This is why there is no universal Organ-on-Chip model. The experimental objective should define the biological complexity, cellular composition, and microenvironment incorporated into the platform, not the availability of a standard device. At CanChip, every Tumor-on-Chip platform is designed around the scientific question being investigated. Whether the objective is proof-of-concept, mechanistic studies, target validation, or therapeutic evaluation, the model is tailored to the biology of the study. And because innovation often begins with a single experiment, we support projects from a single customized chip to larger experimental campaigns, without imposing a minimum project size! The right chip is not the most complex one. It's the one that faithfully reproduces the biology needed to answer your research question.

Osteoarthritis is a whole-joint disease. Its in vitro models should be too! Osteoarthritis is driven by interactions between cartilage, subchondral bone, synovium, inflammation, and mechanical loading. Yet most current Joint-on-a-Chip models reproduce either multi-tissue crosstalk or mechanical stimulation, rarely both. A recent review in Nano-Micro Letters proposes a next-generation JoC architecture combining: - Stepped micropillars for region-specific compression and shear - Cartilage, subchondral bone, and synovium compartments - Tissue-specific media supplied through surface-based permeation - Controlled molecular communication between tissues The reviewed results show why this matters. Physiological 10% compression produced cartilage gene-expression profiles comparable to healthy tissue. In contrast, 30% supraphysiological compression reduced COL2A1 and ACAN while increasing IL-6, IL-8, and MMP-13, recreating an OA-like inflammatory and hypertrophic phenotype. Multi-tissue models also revealed that IL-1β stimulation of the bone compartment caused a stronger inflammatory response in cartilage than direct cartilage stimulation, highlighting the importance of osteochondral crosstalk. Animal models remain valuable, but interspecies differences, long timelines, cost, and limited control over individual mechanical variables restrict their translational utility. JoC platforms can independently control strain, shear, oxygen, and biochemical signaling using human cells. For OA drug development, the opportunity is not simply to replace animal models. It is to make mechanical loading and tissue crosstalk measurable components of preclinical testing. 🔗 Read the full text here: https://lnkd.in/d2YT4HEG

🚀 What happens when Organ-on-Chip technology leaves the lab and travels around the Moon? For the Artemis II mission, NASA launched personalized bone marrow-on-chip models created from the astronauts' own cells to study how deep-space radiation and microgravity affect human biology! The mission has now entered its next phase. The returned chips are undergoing detailed molecular analyses to uncover DNA damage, gene expression changes, and immune responses after deep-space exposure. Beyond space exploration, this work demonstrates the growing potential of Organ-on-Chip technology as a human-relevant platform for studying disease, improving preclinical research, and advancing personalized medicine. Read the full article 👇

🎊 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝗜 𝗗𝗿𝘂𝗴 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗧𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗗𝗔'𝘀 𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 Absentia Labs' AI-powered Digital Liver Model has become the first AI drug development tool accepted into the FDA's ISTAND Qualification Program! Unlike product approvals, the ISTAND program evaluates Drug Development Tools (DDTs) that can be qualified for a specific Context of Use across multiple drug development programs. Its goal is to establish innovative methods that improve how drugs are developed and evaluated. Absentia's Digital Liver Model is being evaluated to predict drug-induced liver injury (DILI), one of the leading causes of late-stage clinical failures and post-market drug withdrawals. This milestone also highlights an important trend in preclinical development. AI models require high-quality human-relevant data for training and validation. Technologies such as Organ-on-Chip and Tumor-on-Chip generate physiologically relevant datasets that complement AI and increase confidence in preclinical decision-making. 🥳 Congratulations to the entire Absentia Labs team on reaching this important regulatory milestone. It is exciting to see innovative computational tools entering qualification pathways that could shape the future of drug development!