Electroacoustic Responsive Cochlea-on-a-Chip

Electroacoustic Responsive Cochlea-on-a-Chip

2024 | Yangnan Hu, Jia Yue Xing, Hui Zhang, Xinyi Pang, Yabo Zhai, Hong Cheng, Dongyu Xu, Menghui Liao, Yanru Qi, Danqi Wu, Bin Zhang, Lin Cheng, Bo Chu, Chen Zhang, Yuanjin Zhao, Renjie Chai
A novel cochlea-on-a-chip platform integrating conductive hydrogel and cochlear implant electroacoustic stimulation (EAS) is presented for high-throughput drug screening. The platform uses a conductive hydrogel composed of polypyrrole-polydopamine (PPY-PDA) embedded in Matrigel to support the growth and differentiation of inner ear progenitor cells into mature cochlear organoids. The hydrogel provides a biocompatible and conductive environment that enables the self-organization of cells into 3D structures with high cell viability and functional hair cells. The system incorporates microfluidic technology to enable dynamic and high-throughput evaluation of drugs affecting inner ear function. The platform was tested with cisplatin, a drug known to cause ototoxicity, and showed sensitivity to varying concentrations of the drug. Antioxidant alpha-lipoic acid was found to protect cochlear organoids from cisplatin-induced damage. The system also demonstrated the ability to generate concentration gradients for drug screening. The integration of EAS with the hydrogel and microfluidic chip enhanced the proliferation and differentiation of inner ear progenitor cells, leading to the formation of hair cells with stereocilia. The platform provides a promising in vitro model for evaluating drugs that protect against hearing loss and has potential applications in organoid cultivation and deafness drug screening. The study highlights the potential of combining conductive hydrogels with microfluidic technology to create advanced in vitro models for biomedical research.A novel cochlea-on-a-chip platform integrating conductive hydrogel and cochlear implant electroacoustic stimulation (EAS) is presented for high-throughput drug screening. The platform uses a conductive hydrogel composed of polypyrrole-polydopamine (PPY-PDA) embedded in Matrigel to support the growth and differentiation of inner ear progenitor cells into mature cochlear organoids. The hydrogel provides a biocompatible and conductive environment that enables the self-organization of cells into 3D structures with high cell viability and functional hair cells. The system incorporates microfluidic technology to enable dynamic and high-throughput evaluation of drugs affecting inner ear function. The platform was tested with cisplatin, a drug known to cause ototoxicity, and showed sensitivity to varying concentrations of the drug. Antioxidant alpha-lipoic acid was found to protect cochlear organoids from cisplatin-induced damage. The system also demonstrated the ability to generate concentration gradients for drug screening. The integration of EAS with the hydrogel and microfluidic chip enhanced the proliferation and differentiation of inner ear progenitor cells, leading to the formation of hair cells with stereocilia. The platform provides a promising in vitro model for evaluating drugs that protect against hearing loss and has potential applications in organoid cultivation and deafness drug screening. The study highlights the potential of combining conductive hydrogels with microfluidic technology to create advanced in vitro models for biomedical research.
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