Cherry Biotech Publishes Research on Advanced Skin-on-Chip Model in Microfluidics

Cherry Biotech has announced the publication of research on its CubiX platform in Advanced Healthcare Materials. The study explores a microfluidic system designed to replicate key features of human skin, including immune cell circulation and vascular interfaces, to enable more physiologically relevant testing environments.

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Using the CubiX platform, Cherry Biotech developed a fully differentiated, air-exposed skin model with an endothelial barrier and circulating immune cells. This setup offers a dynamic alternative to static culture systems, providing a more accurate simulation of immune responses in human skin.

The study highlights the successful activation of immune cells upon exposure to a skin irritant, demonstrating the platform’s ability to capture physiological responses that static models cannot. This system sets the stage for more advanced applications, such as developing metastatic melanoma models for testing immunotherapies, including CAR-T cells and antibody-based treatments.

Assembly of the complete skin-on-chip (SoC) microfluidic device and flow characterization during perfusion.

The device is compatible with standard 6-well and 12-well plates, making it accessible to researchers using commercially available 3D RhS models. Cherry Biotech’s CubiX system, which integrates gas and flow controllers with real-time imaging capabilities, supports the platform.

The article presents the first part of this wor; it points to the potential of such systems to bring preclinical testing closer to real-world human biology, with the ultimate goal of accelerating melanoma treatment development.

Topics: Tools & Methods