Analytical Sciences

Development of a Microfluidic System Comprising Dialysis and Secretion Components for a Bioassay of Renal Clearance

Yu SAKUTA,* Issey TAKEHARA,** Kin-ichi TSUNODA,* and Kiichi SATO*

*School of Science and Technology, Gunma University, 1-5-1 Tenjincho, Kiryu, Gunma 376-8515, Japan
**Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd., 1-2-58 Hiromachi, Shinagawa, Tokyo 140-8710, Japan

We have developed a microfluidic bioassay system that mimics glomerular filtration and tubular secretion in the kidney. The system consists of a peristaltic micropump (heart), a dialysis component (renal corpuscle), and a secretion component (renal proximal tubule). Analytes were separated by size using a dialysis membrane in the dialysis component. Model cells were cultured on a membrane in the secretion component, and active transport mediated by P-glycoprotein (P-gp) was confirmed using the P-gp substrate rhodamine 123 with or without the P-gp inhibitor quinidine sulfate. The system achieved both size separation and selective transport by P-gp on a single microchip. This proof-of-concept model may find applications in drug excretion assays, including studies of drug-drug interactions during tubular secretion.

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