Scientists have developed the world’s first vaginal chip called “Vagina-on-a-chip,” a research study investigating how different microbes affect vaginal health.
Gautam Mahajan, a former research scientist at Harvard University’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, explains that the vaginal microbiome plays an important role in regulating vaginal health and disease and has a major impact on prenatal health.
“Our human vaginal chip offers an attractive solution to study host-microbiome interactions and accelerate the development of potential probiotic treatments,” said Mahajan as quoted by LiveScience.
The vaginal chip is 2.54 centimeters long and contains cells donated by two women. The scientists allegedly let the cells multiply for five days in the device before adding the sex hormone estradiol. Hormones that are important in regulating the estrous cycle and the menstrual cycle in the female reproductive cycle.
Researchers found that Lactobacillus bacteria, commonly found in the vagina, managed to produce lactic acid in vaginal fragments. So that it can lower the pH of the tissue it contains. Because a healthy vagina usually has a pH of 4.5.
Next, the researchers also looked at bacterial vaginosis, a common vaginal infection caused by an overgrowth of certain bacteria. When inserted into the vaginal chip, the results cause the pH of the device to rise along with the damaged vaginal cells.
“This is an opportunity to bring women’s health into modern times using modern technology,” said Achyuta Nori, a physician.
However, vaginal chip technology has limitations as it cannot fully capture all factors that affect the vaginal microbiome in humans. However, vaginal chips are a good first step towards further research.
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