An on-chip intestine-liver model for multiple drugs absorption and metabolism behavior simulation

A double-layer microfluidic chip integrated with a hollow fiber (HF) was developed to reconstitute the intestine-liver functionality for studying the absorption and metabolism of combination drugs. Caco-2 cells were inoculated in the HF cavity at the top of the serpentine channel to simulate the intestinal tissue for drug absorption and transport studied, and HepG2 cells, seeded in the bottom chamber, were used to mimic the liver for metabolism-related studies. Genistein and dacarbazine were selected for combination drug therapy and its effects on cell viability, hepatotoxicity, and cell cycle arrest under drug-conditioned culture were investigated. The results suggested that the combined concentration below −100 μg/mL had no significant inhibitory effect on HepG2 cell viability, and therefore HepG2 cells maintained their drug metabolism ability. When the drug concentration was increased above 250 μg/mL, HepG2 cells underwent apoptosis. Detection of metabolites by mass spectrometry proved the effective metabolism in the microchip model. This dynamic, co-culture microchip successfully provided a podium for long-term observation of absorption, transport, and metabolism of combination drugs, and could be an effective in vitro simulation model for further clinical research.