Stomach
Researchers in Nottingham are to develop a more realistic model of drug uptake which could offer a reliable alternative to animal testing methods.
The study, being led by Dr Martin Garnett in The University of Nottingham’s School of Pharmacy, aims to deliver an improved cell-based model for determining how easily drugs and nanoparticles enter the body through the gut. The new model will be useful within the pharmaceutical and toxicology sectors. in ’s , aims to deliver an improved cell-based model for determining how easily drugs and nanoparticles enter the body through the gut. The new model will be useful within the pharmaceutical and toxicology sectors.
The three-year project has been funded with £152,780 from the Hadwen Trust, a research charity that funds and promotes the development of techniques to replace the use of animals in biomedical research and testing.
Hitting the target
The research project also involves Dr Snow Stolnikand Dr Franco Falcone in the School of Pharmacy and Professor Bob Stevens in the School of Science and Technology at Nottingham Trent University.
There are already cell models studying drug uptake across the gut. These are based on an important layer of cells called the epithelium which are one of the main barriers to drug uptake. For these conventional studies the cells are grown on a porous artificial membrane called a substrate. This allows the passage of drugs and other molecules across the cells to be measured.
Dr Garnett said: “This work builds on previous work funded by the Dr Hadwen Trust where we investigated a component called ‘basement membrane’ which is present in normal gut, but absent in the conventional cell model. We have shown that basement membrane is important for both the normal growth of epithelial cells and as a barrier to uptake of some molecules and nanoparticles. In our new work we will extend these findings to produce a more realistic model.”
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Posted on Wednesday 23rd October 2013