Abstracts

Living cells used as sensing systems have proved to be valuable tools for prediction of the physiological response to drugs, chemicals, and samples in complex matrices, which toxic effects and specific biological activities can be evaluated in a straightfo rward manner. Thanks to their predictivity, 3D cell models (i.e. spheroids, organoids and microtissues) are replacing conventional 2D cell cultures, enabling to recapitulate the extracellular matrix and cell cell interactions, creating an architecture that reflects native morphology of organs and tumors. Bioluminescent reporter assays represent the gold standard for high throughput screening assays employed in drug discovery and BL proteins showed a formidable tool for elucidating the biological mechanisms underlying morphogenetic and pathogenetic processes and for unravelling molecular pathways involved in the etiopathogenesis of several diseases.According to the three key pillars of the organ on a chip technology, we developed a bioluminescent tissue on a chip with different cell lines (i.e., human embryonic kidney (HEK293T), human cervical cancer (HeLA)) genetically engineered with newly developed luciferase mutants emitting at different wavelengths and characterized by high stability, implemented in a mi crofluidic system for multiplexed biosensing. Thanks to 3D printing technology a cell cartridge and an adaptor were developed to provide a mini dark box interfaced with portable light detectors for BL signal acquisition.The proposed biosensing platform could become a useful tool for multiple bioactivity analysis, for on-site screening of toxic substances, prioritizing samples for more accurate chemical analyses.