Goals and Research Objectives of DeLIVERY
The main goal of our project DeLIVERY is to develop a unique combination of a long-term patient-specific cell and tissue culture system with novel optical imaging tools that will enable us to study patient cells and their response to drug treatments with unprecedented spatiotemporal resolution in 4 dimensions.
The Key Research Objectives of DeLIVERY are:
1. To develop a modular high-end and integrated imaging platform for high-throughput multi-drug testingof human liver cells and liver biopsies capable of maintaining and assessing human liver tissue for a minimum of 14 days.
2. To develop novel high-speed super-resolution and label-free optical technologies that transcend the 250nm optical diffraction barrier for the dynamic visualization of morphological markers in living human tissue sections and to permit live imaging of multi-drug interactions with tissue in microphysiological chambers.
3. To develop novel, high-speed sCMOS camera technology with single molecule sensitivity capable of imaging in the near-infrared spectral range to enable minimally invasive, high-speed volumetric assessment of liver morphology across 5 orders of magnitude.
4. To develop innovative technologies/protocols capable of utilizing human liver tissues for long-term drug testing with constant monitoring, which will reduce animal testing.
5. To assess the effects of polypharmacy on human liver cells and liver tissues.
The research objectives will be achieved through corresponding work packages (WPs) with well-defined deliverables and milestones ensuring that the progress of the project is measurable and timely. The chart below shows how the various work packages are connected and interrelated.
