• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Tuesday, September 2, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News

Cancer breakthrough miniature device shows which drugs perform best against tumors

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
December 15, 2016
in Science News
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram
IMAGE

Credit: University of Huddersfield

"…the device allows early assessment of the effects of drugs, speeding up the adoption of those that are shown to be therapeutically effective…"

"…while there have been major improvements in knowledge of cancer cell biology, clinical approval of new drugs has not kept pace until now…"

RESEARCHERS at the University of Huddersfield have helped develop a lab device that could speed up the adoption of new anti-cancer treatments.

It is a small, versatile and simple-to-use microfluidic system that consists of a series of chambers, enabling scientists to monitor the response of hypoxic cells – deficient in oxygen and therefore resistant to therapy – when drugs are introduced.

Professor Roger Phillips and Dr Simon Allison at the University of Huddersfield formed a collaboration with researchers in Spain – based at institutions that include the Aragon Institute of Biomedical Research – after meeting them during a project that involved a UK scientific instrument-making company.

This led to research and development of the new microfluidic device, now described in an article, with Professor Phillips and Dr Allison among the co-authors. Titled Development and characterisation of a microfluidic model of the tumour microenvironment, it appears in Scientific Reports, from the publishers of leading journal Nature.

Professor Phillips is a specialist in the evaluation of new anti-cancer drugs, with a specific interest in the micro environments surrounding tumours as a target for drug development. He explained that the advantage of the new device – made of glass or plastic – is that it enables researchers to visualise the micro environment and monitor how cells respond in real time to the drug being tested.

Also, the test cells – after being grown in the lab – can be spheroid, as opposed to the flat "2D" cells normally relied on by researchers. The "3D" nature of cells inside the microfluidic device means that it is possible to visualise what is happening to them internally.

"We can see the drugs moving in, and see hypoxia developing in the centre," said Professor Phillips, who added that the new system could also be used for a wide range of other applications.

One of the conclusions of the article in Scientific Reports is that while there have been major improvements in knowledge of cancer cell biology, clinical approval of new drugs has not kept pace. One strategy in response is to "develop new in vitro preclinical models that are better predictors of success in advanced preclinical and clinical testing".

Now the microfluidic device will help address the urgent need for a new in vitro model able to mimic key aspects of the tumour microenvironment and therefore allow early assessment of the effects of drugs, speeding up the adoption of those that are shown to be therapeutically effective.

###

Media Contact

Nicola Werritt
[email protected]
01-484-473-315
@HudUniPR

http://www.hud.ac.uk/

############

Story Source: Materials provided by Scienmag

Share12Tweet7Share2ShareShareShare1

Related Posts

MASL Alters OSCC Cells: Growth, Motility, Morphology Changes

September 2, 2025
Herbal Extracts Enhance Antibiotic Effects on Resistant Pathogens

Herbal Extracts Enhance Antibiotic Effects on Resistant Pathogens

September 2, 2025

Evaluating Mindfulness Intervention for Self-Injury Recovery

September 2, 2025

SPS Measures: Challenges and Opportunities in Ag Trade

September 2, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • blank

    Breakthrough in Computer Hardware Advances Solves Complex Optimization Challenges

    154 shares
    Share 62 Tweet 39
  • Molecules in Focus: Capturing the Timeless Dance of Particles

    143 shares
    Share 57 Tweet 36
  • New Drug Formulation Transforms Intravenous Treatments into Rapid Injections

    117 shares
    Share 47 Tweet 29
  • Do people and monkeys see colors the same way?

    112 shares
    Share 45 Tweet 28

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

MASL Alters OSCC Cells: Growth, Motility, Morphology Changes

Herbal Extracts Enhance Antibiotic Effects on Resistant Pathogens

Evaluating Mindfulness Intervention for Self-Injury Recovery

  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.