Philip Lee

Microfluidic cell culture technologies offer the ability to create more relevant in vitro environments for preclinical studies using liver hepatocytes. The liver is the critical organ in detoxifying the body of xenobiotics such as biopharmaceuticals and environmental chemicals. Current in vitro screening using isolated hepatocytes are unable to maintain adequate liver-specific activity and are poor predictors of clinical outcomes. We have developed a microfluidic system capable of recreating… Show more

Microfluidic cell culture technologies offer the ability to create more relevant in vitro environments for preclinical studies using liver hepatocytes. The liver is the critical organ in detoxifying the body of xenobiotics such as biopharmaceuticals and environmental chemicals. Current in vitro screening using isolated hepatocytes are unable to maintain adequate liver-specific activity and are poor predictors of clinical outcomes. We have developed a microfluidic system capable of recreating key aspects of the physiologic hepatocyte environment to provide long-term primary hepatocyte activity for over 28 days. The microfluidic design maintains cells in defined 3D tissue aggregates with continuous perfusion exposure of nutrients from a set of sinusoid channels. The microfluidic plates are arranged on a standard 96-well plate frame and are compatible with existing assay and automation tools. Show less

Systems biology seeks to develop a complete understanding of cellular mechanisms by studying the functions of intra- and inter-cellular molecular interactions that trigger and coordinate cellular events. However, the complexity of biological systems causes accurate and precise systems biology experimentation to be a difficult task. Most biological experimentation focuses on highly detailed investigation of a single signaling mechanism, which lacks the throughput necessary to reconstruct the… Show more

Systems biology seeks to develop a complete understanding of cellular mechanisms by studying the functions of intra- and inter-cellular molecular interactions that trigger and coordinate cellular events. However, the complexity of biological systems causes accurate and precise systems biology experimentation to be a difficult task. Most biological experimentation focuses on highly detailed investigation of a single signaling mechanism, which lacks the throughput necessary to reconstruct the entirety of the biological system, while high-throughput testing often lacks the fidelity and detail necessary to fully comprehend the mechanisms of signal propagation. Systems biology experimentation, however, can benefit greatly from the progress in the development of microfluidic devices. Microfluidics provides the opportunity to study cells effectively on both a single- and multi-cellular level with high-resolution and localized application of experimental conditions with biomimetic physiological conditions. Additionally, the ability to massively array devices on a chip opens the door for high-throughput, high fidelity experimentation to aid in accurate and precise unraveling of the intertwined signaling systems that compose the inner workings of the cell. Show less