Patent ID: 7829325

Claim:
A system for testing potential drug candidates comprising, in combination: an organ slice culture apparatus having: a chamber comprising a medium inlet/outlet and a gas valve for supplying and discharging a gas; a plurality of organ slices positioned within said chamber so as to maximize the surface area of said organ slices exposed to a medium; wherein said medium inlet/outlet is a means that both supplies said medium to said chamber so that said medium in said chamber completely immerses said organ slices and removes said medium from contact with said organ slices; wherein said medium inlet/outlet is located at the bottom of said chamber below the position of said plurality of organ slices; and a reservoir connected to said inlet/outlet that contains said medium supplied and removed from said chamber; wherein when said organ slices are exposed to said potential drug candidate, the toxicity of said potential drug candidate can be determined by observing the effectiveness of said organ slices to metabolize a metabolizable compound in the presence of said potential drug candidate.