Introduction

We present the first laser-based platform for performing in vitro toxicity assessments of drugs and molecules on the heart and brain cells. The platform exploits a laser beam to open very small pores in the cellular membrane in order to measure precisely their electrical activity, which is at the base of the heart contraction and of the brain functioning.

Technical features

We present the first laser-based platform for performing in vitro toxicity assessments of drugs and molecules on the heart and brain cells. The platform exploits a laser beam to open very small pores in the cellular membrane in order to measure precisely their electrical activity, which is at the base of the heart contraction and of the brain functioning. Thanks to this technology, molecules can be tested in vitro on cells derived by human stem cells, measuring both positive and negative effects with high reliability. The laser poration of the cells is completely non-invasive and allows for maintaining the cells alive after the measurement, so that the toxicity assessments can be repeated multiple times over several days on the same cell culture.

Possible Applications

• Toxicity assessment during drug discovery and development;
• Chronic cardiotoxicity assessment;
• Personalized-precision medicine;
• Complex co-cultures models.

Advantages

• Extremely low invasiveness of the laser poration;
• Very high spatial resolution on in vitro cultures;
• High quality of the recorded data.