Device for evaluation of chemical substance and method for evaluation of chemical substance

A device that provides an organ model in which multiple samples of cells are cultured for evaluations of reactions of a test chemical substance with the multiple samples of cells, comprising:

• a unitary body structure with an open-top and closed-bottom channel in the unitary body structure, wherein the channel is configured to flow a supply of a perfusion fluid from an upstream side of the channel to a downstream side thereof;
• a first compartment in the upstream side of the channel to have an open-top and a closed-bottom,
• wherein the first compartment is configured to hold inside first sample cells cultured at a cell culture height from the closed-bottom of the first compartment to form a cell sheet on a membrane inside the first compartment,
• further wherein the first compartment is configured to receive the test chemical substance thrown through the open-top of the first compartment upon the cultured first sample cells,
• further wherein the closed-bottom of the first compartment is configured to collect the test chemical substance reacted with the cultured first sample cells and passing through the membrane to join the test chemical substance collected into with the supply of the perfusion fluid, and
• further wherein the open-top of the first compartment is configured to provide a first passage for sampling the test chemical substance reacted with the first sample cells;
• a second compartment in the downstream side of the channel to have an open-top and a closed-bottom and to receive a flow of the perfusion fluid joined with the test chemical substance collected,
• wherein the second compartment is configured to hold second sample cells cultured inside the second compartment,
• further wherein the closed-bottom of the second compartment is configured to flow the supply of the perfusion fluid, joined with the test chemical substance collected, through the second sample cells to react the test chemical substance collected with the second sample cells, and
• further wherein the open-top of the second compartment is configured to provide a second passage for sampling the test chemical substance reacted with both the first sample cells and the second sample cells;
• and
• a partition wall elevated from the closed bottom of the channel between the first compartment and the second compartment,
• wherein the partition wall is configured to have an inclined upstream surface and a vertical downstream surface, which converge to an acutely shaped edge at a top of the partition wall, the inclined upstream surface defining an inclined downstream end of the first compartment and the vertical downstream surface defining a vertical upstream end of the second compartment,
• further wherein the partition wall creates a reservoir of the perfusion fluid in the first compartment having a liquid surface as high as a height of the partition wall to prevent the test chemical substance thrown in the first compartment from dispersing into the reservoir of the perfusion fluid before passing through the first sample cells, and
• further wherein the partition wall is configured with a sloped surface to slow down the flow of the perfusion fluid from the reservoir of the perfusion fluid in the first compartment over the partition wall into the second compartment to suppress a concentration change of the test chemical substance in the perfusion fluid flowing over the partition wall into the second compartment.