IIT & ICMR make devices that mimic human placenta

Mumbai: Scientists from the city’s elite research institutions have developed a number of devices that mimic the human placenta and could help understand pregnancy-related complications such as preeclampsia and gestational diabetes.

These placenta-on-a-chip devices are the result of collaboration between IIT Bombay, and the Indian Council of Medical Research’s National Institute for Research in Reproductive and Child Health (NIRRCH) in Parel.

“In pregnancy, the placenta shields the baby from harmful drugs and chemicals. But some can still cross this barrier and cause harm to the baby in the womb. Hence, pregnant women are not given most medications and they continue to suffer,” said NIRRCH’s Dr Deepak Modi.

As Dr Modi and IIT professor Abhijit Majumder are friends, the idea was born “over coffee”. “We were speaking about his and my work and we said, the placenta which is a gatekeeper of sorts that allows some nutrients to come in and bars the entry of some, is like an engineering problem of controlling transfer,” said Dr Majumder.

Studying the human placenta has challenges as it is a temporary organ that only develops during pregnancy.

“For example, if I make a toy aeroplane, it will not face the kind of air pressure, force that a real plane will face. But then I put together some engineering calculations such that the toy will survive the environment as in the real picture. Similarly, the earlier works did not take into account such engineering calculations needed to make the placenta on the chip in an equivalent environment,” said Dr Majumder.

Both labs rigorously tested if the devices actually do the things an actual placenta is supposed to do. The devices are now ready for testing different drugs and medicines to be utilised by the pharma industry. “This will lessen the need for animal use and revolutionise the pharma industry to enhance the lives of countless people worldwide. Patent filing is under process for this technology that offers benefits to both the industry and academia,” said a press release.