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Professor Jungmok Seo Electrical & Electronic Engineering

Innovative PreD Chip for Drug Testing developed

Yonsei University and UNIST Develop Innovative PreD Chip for Drug Testing

Innovative biomimetic chip overcomes the limitations of animal testing

High resistance to absorption, expected to reduce costs and increase development speed

Published in Small, the top journal in the field of biomaterials


A team led by Professor Jungmok Seo from the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Yonsei University and Professor Tae-Eun Park from the Department of Biomedical Engineering at UNIST has developed a coated chip, the Precision Drug Testing Organ Chip (PreD Chip), to enhance the precision of preclinical drug testing. The research results were published on July 2 in Small, a top-tier journal in the field of biomaterials (IF = 13, top 7% JCR).


[Figure 1. Anti-drug absorption property of the PreD chip. A) Schematics depicting the composition of the PreD chip and the anticipated drug testing results. B) Optical image of the PreD chip. C) Time-dependent fluorescence microscopic images of microchannels and the corresponding fluorescence intensity across the microfluidic channel (n = 3) (scale bars, 200 µm).]


Traditional animal testing often fails to accurately predict human responses because of differences in drug reactions between animals and humans. Therefore, many studies have focused on developing more-accurate and efficient preclinical testing models that can replace animal testing.


Biomimetic chips can more realistically reproduce human organs, allowing for more precise testing than animal models. However, conventional polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based biomimetic chips have issues where low-molecular-weight drugs are randomly absorbed or adsorbed, reducing the accuracy of drug response analysis.


The PreD Chip developed by the joint research team from Yonsei University and UNIST addresses these issues, significantly improving the accuracy of drug response analysis. This chip is designed to prevent the adsorption of low-molecular-weight drugs by coating the PDMS-based biomimetic chip with perfluoropolyether (PFPE) lubricant. Whereas traditional technologies resulted in the loss of more than 30% of the drug, the PreD Chip almost completely prevents such drug loss.


In addition, the PreD Chip supports multicellular culture by including a semi-permeable membrane coated with the extracellular matrix (ECM), accurately reproducing the microenvironment and functions of organs. Using the developed PreD Chip, drug toxicity and permeability tests mimicking the human intestinal wall and the blood-brain barrier (BBB) showed improved drug sensitivity and accuracy.


This technology is expected to not only enhance the accuracy of preclinical drug testing but also significantly help reduce costs and accelerate the speed of drug development.


Professor Seo said, “The innovative design and performance of the PreD Chip represent a significant advancement in biomimetic chip-based preclinical systems. The more accurate drug reactivity data derived from the PreD Chip will lead to the development of more effective treatments for various diseases.”


Researcher Tae Young Kim added, “The PreD Chip aligns with recent changes such as the FDA’s relaxation of animal testing regulations and promotes non-animal testing models for humans.”


This research was supported by the Mid-Career Researcher Support Program, the Outstanding Young Researcher Support Program, the Electronic Drug Technology Development Program, and the Dementia Overcoming Research and Development Program funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT through the National Research Foundation of Korea.


Find out more: 

Title of article: Lubricant-Coated Organ-on-a-Chip for Enhanced Precision in Preclinical Drug Testing

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202402431

Journal: Small

Contact corresponding author: Prof. Jungmok Seo (jungmok.seo@yonsei.ac.kr)

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