Placenta-on-a-Chip: In Vitro Study of Caffeine Transport across Placental Barrier Using Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry.

ABSTRACT: Due to the particular structure and functionality of the placenta, most current human placenta drug testing methods are limited to animal models, conventional cell testing, and cohort/controlled testing. Previous studies have produced inconsistent results due to physiological differences between humans and animals and limited availability of human and/or animal models for controlled testing. To overcome these challenges, a placenta-on-a-chip system is developed for studying the exchange of substances to and from the placenta. Caffeine transport across the placental barrier is studied because caffeine is a xenobiotic widely consumed on a daily basis. Since a fetus does not carry the enzymes that inactivate caffeine, when it crosses a placental barrier, high caffeine intake may harm the fetus, so it is important to quantify the rate of caffeine transport across the placenta. In this study, a caffeine concentration of 0.25 mg mL^-1 is introduced into the maternal channel, and the resulting changes are observed over a span of 7.5 h. A steady caffeine concentration of 0.1513 mg mL^-1 is reached on the maternal side after 6.5 h, and a 0.0033 mg mL^-1 concentration on the fetal side is achieved after 5 h.

SUBMITTER: Pemathilaka RL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6436596 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature