The microfluidic biochip technique predicts the behaviour of a substance in the human body.

This technique uses reduced scale models of the human body in silicium, containing chips and assays of human cell cultures. Each compartment represents a different organ or tissue. e.g: liver, lipids, etc. The compartments are linked by channels whose lengths simulate the actual time it takes to travel through the human body. A fluid, which is similar to blood, circulates throughout the model to which the test substance can be added.

This apparatus tests the effects of a substance on the body as well as the ways in which various organs transform it.

The small size and low costs mean that a wide variety of substances can be tested when looking for a particular result.

Sources

• Hurel – Technology overview
• Hurel – Multi-tissue