Chip calorimeter for determining the effect of nanoparticle materials on living cells

Simple SummaryContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

The invention is a chip calorimeter device and method designed to measure the effect of nanoparticle materials on living cells by detecting changes in their heat (thermal power) output. The system uses magnetic beads coated with living cells, flows them through a chamber, and exposes them to nanoparticles. The produced heat is captured by thermopiles, converted to electrical signals, and analyzed to assess the physiological response or cytotoxicity caused by the nanoparticles. This allows for rapid, sensitive, and automated testing of how various nanoparticle materials interact with cells.

Use CasesContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• Safety screening of new nanoparticle formulations for toxicity to human or microbial cells.
• Assessing the cytotoxic effects of nanoparticles in pharmaceutical and biomedical research.
• Environmental monitoring for nanoparticle contamination impacts on microbial ecology or biofilms.
• Studying the effects of nanoparticles on genetically modified organisms or eukaryotic cell cultures (e.g., cancer cells).
• Rapid screening in industrial, academic, or regulatory laboratories for nanotoxicology research.
• Optimization or development of nanoparticle-based therapies (e.g., targeted drug delivery or cancer treatment).

BenefitsContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• Highly sensitive detection of cellular metabolic changes due to nanoparticles (detection below 100 nW).
• Rapid and automated measurement, reducing time and manual labor compared to traditional toxicity assays.
• Low sample and reagent consumption, with small numbers of cells required—offering significant cost savings.
• Enables testing on biofilms, mixed cell types, and genetically modified or clonal cultures.
• Online (real-time) monitoring is possible, enabling fast feedback during experiments.
• Reproducible and quantitative data generation for robust comparative studies.

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Patent Abstract

A chip calorimeter 40 comprises through-flow test chamber 11 with test channel 47, supply channel 12 for the supply of magnetic-bead samples 16 prepared with living cells and nanoparticle material, drainage channel 13, transport fluid 17, permanent magnet 18 positioned on the surface 19 of chamber 11 which engages its magnetic field in the test chamber, pivot device 20 holding the magnet and moving it away from the chamber, and at least one thermopile 24-27 in contact with the test chamber, a holding device 14 to suspend the test chamber vertically, pump unit 28 for fluid drainage, bead-sample trap 29, wherein thermal power measurement is implemented on the bead sample 16 fixed magnetically in chamber 11 after settling of thermal disturbances of the samples, wherein the thermal power produced by the cells is converted in the thermopiles into electrical signals which are processed in evaluation device 39 which reproduce the response of the living cells to contact with nanoparticles on the basis of the measured thermal power produced by the cells.