“Gelatin Nanofiber-based in Vitro Model for the Placental Barrier”
Michael Peters, S.B. ’19, bioengineering
Advisor: Kit Parker, Tarr Family Professor of Bioengineering and Applied Physics
Because pregnant women are rarely included in clinical trials, the safety of pharmaceuticals in pregnancy is often unknown, even for drugs that have already received FDA approval. Peters developed an in vitro model for the placenta, a temporary organ that allows nutrient uptake and waste elimination for the developing fetus. He engineered tissue, utilizing gelatin nanofibers to mimic the organ’s extracellular matrix, that incorporates the major characteristics of placenta cells. By combining this engineered tissue with a microfluidic device to recreate the blood flows, Peters was able to create an in vitro model that could enable future studies of drug transport across the placental barrier.
“The lack of clinical data pertaining to pregnant women for drugs that are already FDA approved creates a large knowledge gap in the actual safety of these drugs for both the mother and the developing fetus,” he said. “This project puts forth an in vitro model that could be utilized by pharmaceutical companies in their drug development and safety experiments. This device would bypass ethical issues in human testing and structural issues in animal models.”