MIT researchers have devised a novel way to create tiny colonies of living human liver cells that model the full-sized organ. The work could allow better screening of new drugs that are potentially harmful to the liver and reduce the costs associated with their development.

To build these model livers, they used micropatterning technology–the same technology used to place tiny copper wires on computer chips–to precisely arrange human liver cells and other supporting cells on a plate.

This “high-fidelity tissue model” closely mimics the behavior of a human liver. For example, each model “organ” secretes the blood protein albumin, synthesizes urea, and produces the enzymes necessary to break down drugs and toxins.