Built on a foundation of science
Our on-chip technologies feature the unique capability to apply mechanical forces to living human cells derived from the body. Using this technology, chiron's main aim is to recreate the synovial joint with innovative organ-on-chip platforms.
Cell
Take cell samples from a human patient
Nourish
Nourish the cells with nutrients and inject them into the appropriate chiron platform
Stimulate
Use stimuli, like mechanical forces, to recreate the cell’s natural environment, with the option of adding pharmaceutical compounds
Analyze
Perform analysis on the extracted medium, or the cells from the device, to understand the experimental outcome
Mimicking the effects of walking motion
The system emulates walking-induced forces on knee cartilage cells using mechanical stimulation (compression, stretching, and shear forces). It stands out as the most human-like in-vitro cartilage model on the market, faithfully reproducing extracellular and pericellular matrix production, proteins, and more. Notably, it offers real-time cell visualization during experiments, a patented feature.
Recreating the joint’s immune response
The Synovial-membrane on Chip is a co-culture system of human synovial fibroblasts, macrophages, and endothelial cells. The design facilitates the recreation of the inflammatory activity and immune response of the knee, a crucial component for drug discovery and development. The system is available in a high-throughput, automation-friendly footprint, and, like the Cartilage-on-Chip Platform, provides real-time visualization under the microscope.
Applying chiron’s patented technology to the stimulation of tissue
To complement the Cartilage-on-Chip Platform, chiron created the Move It. Instead of stimulating single cartilage cells or aggregates, the Move It was designed with larger chambers to house pieces of tissue. The tissue, taken from explanted cartilage biopsies (often called cartilage plugs or punches), is cyclically compressed, like it would be in the knee. The biopsies contain all essential cells and elements of cartilage, which makes this easy-to-use, small-footprint system an eloquent approach for studying cartilage with an on-chip platform.