Adding metabolism to the embryonic stem cell test

Abstract

A microfluidic platform for advanced embryotoxicity testing in vitro is presented. We augment the embryonic stem cell test (EST) by including metabolic competence through the use of liver microtissues in a microfluidic hanging-drop network (HDN, [1]). The HDN technology is ideally suited to simultaneously culture human liver microtissues (hLiMTs) and embryoid bodies (EBs) in a microfluidic format and enables direct inter-tissue communication, continuous transport of compounds, and exchange of metabolites.