Hepatotoxicity evaluation of cannabidiol, cannabinol, cannabichromene and cannabigerol using a human quad culture liver chip.

Due to the increasing availability of hemp-derived products for recreational and medicinal use, it is imperative to understand the hepatotoxicity of the naturally occurring phytocannabinoids. Though, traditionally animal models or in vitro techniques are used to evaluate hepatotoxicity, these methods often fail due to the species differences and lack of the needed complexity. Thus, this study investigated the hepatotoxicity potential of Cannabidiol (CBD), Cannabinol (CBN), Cannabichromene (CBC), and Cannabigerol (CBG) using the Emulate Quad-Culture Liver-Chip model.

Performance assessment and economic analysis of a human Liver-Chip for predictive toxicology.

Background: Conventional preclinical models often miss drug toxicities, meaning the harm these drugs pose to humans is only realized in clinical trials or when they make it to market. This has caused the pharmaceutical industry to waste considerable time and resources developing drugs destined to fail. Organ-on-a-Chip technology has the potential improve success in drug development pipelines, as it can recapitulate organ-level pathophysiology and clinical responses; however, systematic and quantitative evaluations of Organ-Chips' predictive value have not yet been reported.