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Tissue Chip for Drug Screening

Image shows mini kidney tube structures that have sugar receptors and form outward-facing polycystic kidney disease cysts, which swell by taking in sugar.
Mini Organ Models Provide Insights into Genetic Kidney Disease

Researchers combined organ-in-a-dish and organ-on-a-chip technologies to better understand polycystic kidney disease (PKD) and show the role of glucose in forming PKD cysts. This approach could lead to ways to test drugs and develop treatments.

A model of heart muscle cells that carry a genetic mutation on an artificial surface.
New Clinical Trials on a Chip Program Could Improve Drug Development Process

To improve the success rate of late-stage clinical trials of investigational drugs, the new NCATS-led Clinical Trials on a Chip program has awarded 10 inaugural grants to develop tissue chips to inform clinical trial design.

About Tissue Chip

Read more about the Tissue Chip program and its goal to create 3-D organs-on-chips for drug safety and efficacy testing.

Tissue Chip Funding Information

Find more information about how the Tissue Chip program funds innovative research.

Meet Chip

Chip can help you learn about the innovative developments of the Tissue Chip for Drug Screening program at NCATS. Click on Chip's icons to learn more about the tissues and organ systems they represent, and read more about the entire project.

About Tissue Chip

Read more about the Tissue Chip program and its goal to create 3-D organs-on-chips for drug safety and efficacy testing.

Tissue Chip Funding Information

Find more information about how the Tissue Chip program funds innovative research.

Meet Chip

Chip can help you learn about the innovative developments of the Tissue Chip for Drug Screening program at NCATS. Click on Chip's icons to learn more about the tissues and organ systems they represent, and read more about the entire project.

Work With Us

The Tissue Chip for Drug Screening program is designed to improve the way new drugs are developed and tested. Learn more about how you can join this effort.

Contact Danilo Tagle, Ph.D.

Why Tissue Chips Matter

Approximately 30 percent of promising medications have failed in human clinical trials because they are determined to be toxic — despite promising pre-clinical studies in animal and cell models. Tissue chips are a newer, human cell–based approach to this challenge. The chip devices may enable scientists to predict more accurately how effective a therapeutic candidate would be in clinical studies.

Eliminating toxic and/or ineffective drugs earlier in the development process would save time and money. These human tissue chips also could teach us a great deal about disease progression, enabling researchers to better prevent, diagnose and treat disorders. Learn more about the Tissue Chip for Drug Screening program.

Watch the Tissue Chip for Drug Screening video to learn more about the program. The media player works best when viewed in Chrome or Internet Explorer browsers.

Tissue Chip Facts

Download the Tissue Chip fact sheet (PDF - 337KB).