[Back]

M. Rothbauer, H. Gondola, S. Schmid, J. Schalko, B. Huppertz, P. Ertl et al.:
"A Lab-on-a-chip with Integrated Impedance Sensors for Nanotoxicological Studies on Human Placental Cell Lines";
Poster: Microfluidics and Lab-on-a-Chip Technologies, Deutschland; 2017-05-10 - 2017-05-11.

The placenta plays a crucial role in the developmental stages of an unborn child by regulating nutrient and oxygen transport from the mother to the fetus as well as releasing fetal waste products into the maternal blood stream. Transport of nutrients takes place across a multi-layered tissue structure, often termed `placental barrier´, that trophoblasts and fetal vasculature, which may vary based on blood flow, barrier thickness and integrity as well as transporter activity of the placenta. Moreover, the placenta exhibits a protective function by preventing the interaction of potentially hazardous entities including bacteria, viruses and parasites with the fetus. Since the application of nanomaterials (NMs) in technical products and biomedicine has become a highly expansive market, safety and efficacy of NMs are of utmost interest and the impact of NM uptake and cytotoxicity is important for both, the mother as well as the unborn child. Here, we present a lab-on-a-chip with integrated interdigitated impedance sensors for nanotoxicological evaluation of nanomaterials on placenta in vitro models.