Elisabeth Verpoorte,
Chair of Analytical Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Analysis,
University of Groningen
E.M.J. (Sabeth) Verpoorte has more than 30 years of research experience in the microfluidics or lab-on-a-chip field. Her introduction to this technology came in 1990, after her PhD with D. Jed Harrison at the University of Alberta, when she started as a postdoctoral researcher to the pioneering µTAS group headed by Professor Andreas Manz at Ciba Ltd., Basel, Switzerland. In 2003, Sabeth made a strategic switch to assume a Chair in the Groningen Research Institute of Pharmacy, making a foray into a new research environment dominated by cells, tissue and drug development. Projects have involved the development of organ-on-a-chip systems to study drug metabolism (liver chip, gut chip), diagnose endothelial dysfunction and monitor liver tissue function. Efforts have also concentrated on continuous-flow particle separation strategies, paper microfluidics, as well as miniaturized analytical instrumentation (paper spray ionization, multidimensional chromatography). The acquisition of interdisciplinary projects involving scientists from the life sciences, chemistry, and physics disciplines continues to be a driving force in her research.
In 2022, Verpoorte was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Tampere University (Finland) for her work on lab-on-a-chip and organ-on-a-chip research as well as for long-standing interdisciplinary collaborations. A second honorary doctorate from Lund University (Sweden) followed in May of 2024 for outstanding research production within the lab-on-a-chip and microfluidics field, and for being a female role model as, in various ways, she has pursued the issue of female representation in scientific contexts.
Investigating Endothelium Permeability in vitro Under Healthy and Diabetic Conditions
Monday, 24 June 2024 at 11:00
Add to Calendar ▼2024-06-24 00:00:002024-06-24 01:00:00Europe/LondonTitle to be Confirmed.Lab-on-a-Chip and Microfluidics Europe 2024 in Rotterdam, The NetherlandsRotterdam, The NetherlandsSELECTBIOenquiries@selectbiosciences.com
Microfluidic systems incorporating endothelial cell monolayers were among the earliest examples of organs-on-chips, with examples dating back almost two decades. This was to be expected, as microchannels are an obvious (though perhaps not perfect) mimic for the (micro)vascular system in terms of geometry. Moreover, microchannel-based in vitro systems also allow controlled application of shear stress, a crucial parameter in vivo that dictates endothelium properties. We have worked primarily with human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) culture in gelatin-coated glass or PDMS channels, and more recently, with cells cultured on a gelatin substrate. This has allowed us to construct microflow systems to study the permeability of endothelial cell monolayers in diabetes-associated microenvironments, by tracking the transport of fluorescently labelled albumin across these barriers into a gelatin layer underneath. We have observed the appearance of protective effects of cell-extracellular matrix interactions on endothelial cell morphology under shear stress (10 dyn/cm2). More specifically, the endothelial cells maintained their typical cobblestone morphology. In addition, we recorded increased basal permeability values, compared to our results from static experiments, results that aligned well with literature data. We were then able to model a DKD milieu in our endothelium-on-a-chip to test a pharmaceutical compound, finerenone, a mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist (MRA) used in the treatment of diabetic kidney disease patients. We observed a statistically significant improvement in endothelial barrier properties for cells protected by finerenone in comparison to measured barrier permeability in DKD milieu without finerenone.
Add to Calendar ▼2024-06-24 00:00:002024-06-25 00:00:00Europe/LondonLab-on-a-Chip and Microfluidics Europe 2024Lab-on-a-Chip and Microfluidics Europe 2024 in Rotterdam, The NetherlandsRotterdam, The NetherlandsSELECTBIOenquiries@selectbiosciences.com
Add to Calendar ▼2024-06-24 00:00:002024-06-24 01:00:00Europe/LondonTitle to be Confirmed.Lab-on-a-Chip and Microfluidics Europe 2024 in Rotterdam, The NetherlandsRotterdam, The NetherlandsSELECTBIOenquiries@selectbiosciences.com
