The University of Twente will receive a subsidy of seven million euros to further develop miniature hearts. Researchers can use these hearts to study heart disease and test drugs. That seven million is divided over two grants: the NWO XL grant and the EIC Pathfinder Challenge. The University announced in a press release.
For the NWO XL grant, Passier and his partners develop Dr. Janine Post, Dr. Jeroen Leijten (both UT) and Prof. dr. Gert Jan Veenstra (Radboud University) developed a screening platform of human miniature hearts for the study of heart disease and drug testing using advanced microfluidic droplet technology. The EIC-Pathfinder Challenge is led by Leijten, Passier and River Biomedics (spin-off company of the UT) as a consortium with the University of Malaga. This consortium will develop a pumping and human mini heart and a swimming human Bio-Robot.
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NWO XL
Current animal and cell culture models are not accurate enough to predict drug efficacy and toxicity. In this research project, called ‘HeartEngine – Advanced bioengineering strategy for production of human miniature hearts‘, Passier, Post, Leijten and Veenstra will encapsulate human stem cells in hollow miniature hydrogel spheres to make digital twins of the miniature hearts. “We aim to make 100,000 hollow microgels per second. Each microgel is filled with human stem cells that can differentiate into miniature hearts,” says Passier. This results in an ultra-high screening platform. “The digital twins generated in this project will allow us to both study the development of the heart and predict the heart’s response to drugs,” explains Post.
EIC-Pathfinder Challenge
Flat cell cultures of heart tissue are unable to produce a pumping motion, which is the heart’s primary function. In the research project ‘Engineering a living human Mini-heart and a swimming Bio-robotLeijten, Passier and partners will develop a pumping mini-heart and a swimming human bio-robot. “We are working on a real miniature heart with a beating chamber. It will be able to expel fluid and allow us to study the pumping function of the heart,” explains Passier. “With this project, we can combine advanced stem cell protocols with advanced technologies such as an innovative molding technique and next-generation 3D bioprinting to create truly functional living matter,” explains Leijten.