3D skin drug screening platform for wound healing and tissue repair
A validated 3D skin model platform for drug screening in wound healing and tissue repair, integrating patient-derived fibroblasts and macrophages to mimic chronic wound environments. Offers cost-effective predictions of drug efficacy and safety, enhancing drug development timelines.
Overview
The 3D skin drug screening platform is an innovative solution designed to enhance the prediction of drug efficacy and safety in the treatment of chronic wounds. By incorporating fibroblasts and macrophages derived from patients with chronic wounds, this platform closely mimics the biological environment of delayed wound healing. It provides a more accurate and cost-effective alternative to traditional 2D cultures, offering high-content imaging and tissue-based assays to measure key regeneration endpoints such as ECM production, re-epithelialization, and inflammatory cytokine production.
Technical specifications
- Validated 3D skin/epithelial tissue model: Mimics chronic wound repair using patient-derived fibroblasts and macrophages.
- High-content imaging and tissue-based assays: Measures ECM remodeling, cell migration, and multicellular interactions.
- Multiplex screening compatibility: Utilizes Luminex-based protein multiplex assays for fibroblast- and macrophage-derived factors.
- Quantitative readouts: Assesses epithelial migration, proliferation, and inflammatory cytokine cross-talk, providing comprehensive regeneration metrics.
Technology readiness level
The platform is at Technology Readiness Level 6, indicating that it has been validated in relevant environments and is ready for further development and commercial application.
About Tufts University
Tufts University is a comprehensive private research university with campuses in Medford/Somerville, Boston, and Grafton. Its Boston health sciences campus connects faculty with clinicians through hospital affiliations, while the Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute provides resources that support the full spectrum of clinical research and multi-site trials. The co-location of the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging offers a federal–university platform for large-scale, population-relevant studies and collaboration. Research is supported by competitive federal funding, including NIH and USDA, among other sources. A centralized technology commercialization office manages IP, licensing, startup support, and industry-sponsored research agreements.
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