Emulate Inc. announced today that its human Lung-Chip system has expanded functionality to now also model conditions in which inhaled toxins enter the lung, including cigarette smoke, e-cigarettes constituents, and potentially environmental airborne contaminants. The new applications are based on results published online today in Cell Systems¹ led by the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University, the academic source of Emulate’s founding team and fundamental technology. Emulate has exclusively licensed the technology used in the study from the Wyss Institute at Harvard University for translation into commercial products, including the company’s ‘Human Emulation System.’
The expanded functionality of the Lung-Chip system is based on the addition of a life-like breathing ‘inhalation and exhalation’ component, enabling new research and insights into how non-smokers or patients with a chronic lung disease – such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) – may respond to smoke or environmental pollutants. As demonstrated in the published study, using the Lung-Chip to compare human cells before and after exposure to an inhaled agent enables the effect of the agent to be isolated in a human-relevant system, with higher precision than conventional cell culture systems and better fidelity than animal models.
“With the addition of this novel, life-like breathing functionality of inhaled toxins, our Lung-Chip products can now be used in a range of new ways by our collaborators and customers in the areas of product safety regulation, environmental regulation, and pharmaceutical drug development to improve human health and safety,” said Geraldine A. Hamilton, Ph.D., President & Chief Scientific Officer of Emulate.