Biotechnology

Checking the immune response in the lungs

Research News /

Patients in clinical trials must undergo thorough examination in order to allow the effects of new medications to be determined as precisely as possible. One important factor here is the response of their immune systems. Using chip cytometry, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine ITEM have established a procedure for characterizing immune cells in the lungs. This technique offers the major advantage of enabling valuable samples from patients to be stored in refrigerators for months and investigated for further parameters if new issues become relevant during the course of a trial.