3D printed lung tissue used to study effects of toxic vapors
Accurately representing how real lung tissue inside the human body reacts to gaseous chemical agents
According to the US Department of Homeland Security, the (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T), with the Chemical Security Analysis Center (CSAC) and the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM), is 3D printing human lung cells and tissue onto microchips for advanced toxic chemical hazard analysis.
Chemicals like ammonia and chlorine can be extremely dangerous, especially for port and factory workers. These two chemicals remain among the most transported in the United States – making accidental release or deliberate use a major threat. First responders may face significant danger when containing incidents, and exposure can pose immediate or long-term risks. S&T aims to protect the public by understanding and mitigating such hazards. Organ-on-a-Chip (OOAC) research, through the Probabilistic Analysis for National Threats Hazards and Risks (PANTHR) program’s Chemical Threat Characterization (CTC) project, enables the precise study of toxic agents on human lung tissue.
“The Organ-on-a-Chip studies that we are conducting with our partners at the Wake Forest Institute are incredibly important,” said Theresa Pennington, Project Manager of CTC. “With our OOAC program, we are 3D printing lung organ tissue equivalent (OTE) onto a microchip and then exposing that OTE to the toxic vapors. The reason for this approach is that the OTE more accurately represents how real lung tissue inside the human body reacts to the gaseous chemical agents than anything else we can use.”
“The entire microchip is only 1×2 inches or even smaller,” said Dr. Sean Murphy, Project Co-lead of WFIRM. “Within a permeable membrane lies the new OTE, and just like a real lung, it has tiny tubes inside it where air travels. These tubules are around 60 microns across, or about the thickness of a human hair. Air containing the toxic chemical vapors is pumped through those tubes to simulate as if someone was inhaling the fumes. That’s when the toxin interacts with the cells inside the tubes.”
By exposing OTEs to specific concentrations of toxic agents, researchers can study unique damage signatures. Identifying the precise agent and exposure level can be crucial for providing timely medical intervention and protecting communities from large-scale health crises. “Having this research may be the only way to determine if someone has been exposed to these toxicants and what their short-term and long-term effects might look like. And the hope is that it may also be able to inform the medical staff’s decisions, so the best course of treatment for the patient can be initiated,” said Pennington.
“We hope that this research in human response to exposure will assist in the future design and creation of effective medical countermeasures to mitigate or even possibly reverse the effects of these and other toxins so we can save lives,” said Rabih Jabbour, Senior Research Scientist at CSAC.
