Alliance for Developing Hepatotoxic Assay

Bionas GmbH (Rostock, Germany) and Primacyt (Schwerin, Germany), are cooperating on the development of a cell-based assay using primary human hepatocytes for predicting hepatotoxic effects in response to test compounds.

Primary human hepatocytes, provided by Primacyt, are cultivated directly on collagen-coated Bionas metabolic chips SC1000 with Primacyt's chemically defined media. The chips are then placed into the Bionas 2500 analyzing system to evaluate the effects of test compounds. After a recovery period, the hepatocytes can be re-used for further experiments in the Bionas 2500 analyzing system.

Predicting liver toxicity is a major concern, and non-immortalized primary human hepatocytes can be used as biosensors for the analysis of drugs, food additives, and chemicals. A cell-based assay based on the Bionas 2500 analyzing system and primary hepatocytes may aid compound selection in the drug discovery process and may reduce both the number of animal studies and preclinical development time.

Bionas specializes in analyzing systems and services for in-vitro profiling of the metabolic activity of cells to understand cellular function. The Bionas 2500 analyzing system measures extracellular acidification, oxygen consumption, and cell adhesion in a label-free and non-invasive manner, and can be applied to various cell types including primary cells. The readout is carried out continuously and can be watched online. Main applications include drug profiling, lead optimization, pharmaco kinetics, and early toxicology programs.

Primacyt cell culture technology offers a validated, serum-free, long-term human hepatocyte culture system. Hepac2 serves as a biosensor for the toxicologic analysis of drugs, food additives, and chemicals and their impact on hepatocellular metabolism and functions.



Related Links:
Bionas
Primacyt