Ethica M: A Complete Solution for Engineered Contractile Tissues

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) account for around 32% of global deaths. Even so, drug development has been hampered in laboratory models due to limited access to human cardiac tissue, the non-regenerative nature of cardiac cells, and species differences. Recent advances in stem cell biology and Organ-On-Chip technologies have led to the creation of three-dimensional (3D) engineered human heart tissues (EHTs), offering a more physiologically relevant system for disease modelling and drug testing compared to traditional 2D models3. These 3D models, which often involve a dual-pillar structure and contractile tissue strips, provide valuable insights into contractility. However, challenges remain, such as low throughput and potential drug absorption by materials such as polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), which collectively limit their use in drug screening.

To overcome these challenges, we introduce Ethica M, a cutting-edge automated high-throughput platform and solution that combines scalability, integration and ease of use, in a standard 96-well plate format to generate and measure contractile forces from engineered heart tissues, delivering maximum data points
over a given assay duration.

Here, we present an experimental workflow for generation of EHTs using the Ethica M solution. After EHT formation, we evaluated their contractility profile by assessing responses to electrical pacing, changes in pacing frequency, and ionotropic drugs. These benchmarks confirmed that Ethica M–derived EHTs can serve as a robust experimental model for assessing cardiac safety risks and supporting drug discovery efforts.