14 DAY TRIAL // One of the main elements hampering the quick development and adoption of new drugs is the fact that it takes a lot of time for experts to pass thorough all possible chemical combinations. A new and simple micro-array chip developed by Chinese researchers could go a long way towards reducing the time it takes to bring new medications to the market.
The high-throughput screening machine is able to cross-reference the action of various combinations of chemicals against cells cultured in three dimensions, not just the standard two of a Petri dish. Throughput speed could therefore increase several times over.
The instrument was developed by scientists at the Tsinghua University, led by expert Yanan Du. The group developed a way to grow cultures in three dimensions, in spherical arrangements called spheroids, by using a new micro-array chip.
“By using microwells they can scale-down the number of cells and the amount of drug they use whilst increasing throughput by having a device compatible with standard laboratory instrumentation,” comments Imperial College London expert Tony Cass, quoted by Chemistry World.