Making great progress towards enhancing research in maternal and fetal health, a team of scientists from the Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute for Research in Work and Health (ICMR-NIRWoH) and Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) has been able to develop an indigenously made "placenta-on-a-chip" system. This state-of-the-art technology provides a model that mimics the structure and functionality of the human placenta and allows researchers to explore pregnancy-related processes using an ethical, economical, and accurate approach that does not involve much animal experimentation or use of human tissues.
Placenta is one of the key organs that is created during pregnancy. Being a channel between the mother and the fetus, it is responsible for the transfer of oxygen, nutrients, hormones, and waste products as well as providing protection from harmful influences. However, research in this area has always been complicated by the lack of access to healthy placentas and ethical limitations of such experiments.
However, the new placenta-on-a-chip overcomes all the above-mentioned challenges through creation of a laboratory micro-environment similar to the natural one for this tissue. The device created on the basis of microfludic technologies allows creating an environment similar to the physiologic one of maternal and fetal sides to examine the processes of interaction and communication between the cells and the reaction to various factors in real time.
Unlike the traditional methods of research based on the use of conventional laboratory models, the technology of organ-on-a-chip provides researchers with opportunities to create realistic conditions in miniature devices through combining cells with the micro-engineered channels simulating blood flow and other physiological conditions. Thus, it is possible to achieve an extremely realistic reproduction of the functional activities of placenta and increase the reliability of experimental findings.
The greatest advantage of the indigenous platform is the opportunity it provides to conduct more precise research of disorders related to pregnancy. Preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, intrauterine growth restriction, placental insufficiency, preterm birth – these and other pregnancy-related diseases remain a considerable cause of mortality and morbidity among women and infants all over the world.
Further, it creates a potential for the innovation to contribute towards drug discovery and testing. It was difficult to determine the ability of drugs, pollutants, nanoparticles, and other harmful substances to pass the placental barrier and hence cause harm to the unborn child. With the help of the innovation, the researchers will be able to study how the different chemicals move from the mother to the child, which will help in developing drugs that can safely be used during pregnancy.
One of the key points of significance in terms of this accomplishment is the contribution made by India in the area of advanced biomedical engineering and translational medicine. Development of this indigenous technology not only minimizes dependency on foreign technologies but also cuts down research costs and promotes wider usage among academic and research institutions.
The partnership between ICMR-NIRWoH and IIT Bombay demonstrates the need for collaboration between disciplines in the healthcare sector when trying to solve healthcare-related issues.
In addition to its applications in the study of pregnancy, the device stands out as a major achievement in the wider domain of organ-on-a-chip technology. In recent years, this technology is becoming increasingly relevant to the future of disease modeling, personalized medicine, and precision therapeutics because of its potential to decrease the use of animal testing, expedite drug discovery processes, and increase the efficiency of preclinical research.
As maternal and children’s health remain a top priority in the world today, discoveries such as the indigenous placenta-on-a-chip bring new hope for healthier pregnancies, babies, and medical treatment. The invention demonstrates India’s increasing prominence as an innovator in biomedical science and the revolutionary power of native scientific research in solving contemporary public health issues.
Team Yuva Aaveg-
Adarsh Tiwari
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