Prof. Guan-Yu Chen’s team has set up a lung-on-chip system and completed the development of a platform for smart health assessment, inclusive of a bionic alveolar experimental model combining with a human-simulated respiratory system, for air pollution. For the risk assessment of human lung health, not only does this novel platform provide a database of corresponding toxicological reactions as well as exposure evaluation caused by air contaminants, but also dose-response curves. Besides, Prof. Guan-Yu Chen’s team applies this platform to investigate health problems caused by fine suspended particulates from air pollution, such as inflammatory response, barrier damage, pollutant particle penetration, and gas exchange function, of the human respiratory system, especially alveolar tissue. Furthermore, a mature human airway physiological structure is reproduced within the lung-on chip. With the correlation observed between airflow and the direction of cilia oscillation, Prof. Guan-Yu Chen’s team explores and evaluates the efficiency of cilia for fine suspended particles removal, bringing forward an innovative interpretation and guidance for the prevention of air pollution and precise health assessment. Moreover, this may provide more effective clues and diverse prospects of new coming drug development and therapeutic strategies.  The bionic lung-on-chip system with detailed and fine results has been well established. Not only can the bionic lung-on-chip system support long-term cell culture, but also maintain normal functions. Thus, Prof. Guan-Yu Chen’s team has successfully built up the bionic lung-on-chip system with dynamic long-term cell culture. As for the issue of air pollution, to analyze the extent of penetration of fine suspended particles through related tissue, to evaluate the cilia’s function of irritant removal, and to determine the potential threats to the human respiratory system, Prof. Guan-Yu Chen’s team exposed the chip under certain fine suspended particulates with a various composition of irritants and under a different duration of exposure. In previous studies, related experimental designs in this study can be hardly achieved. Nonetheless, due to the fact that the lung-on-chip system supports a 3D structure of cell barrier function and mucus removal via cilia, also being equipped with a liquid dynamic perfusion system, the lung-on-chip system is quite suitable for air pollution prevention and precise health assessment.

 

Inhalation of airborne contaminants and particle penetration are simulated on an in vitro model.