What we study
 

We have developed a variety of human barrier MPS models, including the BBB, lymphatic vessels, intestine, liver, and lung, to reproduce tissue-specific transport and barrier functions.

Importantly, we use these systems not simply as models, but as functional screening platforms for drug delivery discovery.

For example, we have used human BBB-on-a-chip platforms to discover BBB-penetrating peptides and aptamers by directly screening for their ability to cross a physiologically reconstructed human BBB. Such approaches enable candidate selection based on actual transport function rather than receptor binding alone.

We are now expanding this concept by integrating MPS-based functional screening with directed evolution. Our goal is to discover and evolve diverse classes of delivery vehicles—including:
 

• Nanobodies and antibodies

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• AAV vectors

 

• Peptides and aptamers

 

• Nanoparticles and other engineered delivery systems

directly within physiologically relevant human tissue environments.

This strategy could minimize the species differences inherent to conventional animal-based discovery and enable the selection of delivery systems with a greater likelihood of functioning in humans.

Beyond screening existing libraries, we also use biological insights obtained from MPS to understand how therapeutics interact with and traverse human tissue barriers. These mechanistic insights can then guide the rational design of entirely new drug delivery strategies.

 

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