HUMAN CARDIAC TESTING SERVICES
for drug development
Human 3D cardiac models for preclinical drug testing
Human in vitro cardiac testing for drug discovery
4Dcell provides human in vitro cardiac testing services for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies using SmartHeart®, its human iPSC-derived 3D cardiac microtissue platform.
Our scientists design and perform studies to assess drug-induced changes in cardiac contractility, electrophysiology and calcium handling, supporting cardiac safety, efficacy profiling and mechanistic investigations.
From experimental design to quantitative analysis and scientific reporting, we deliver functional data tailored to your compound and drug development objectives.
4Dcell human cardiac functional assays
Our cardiac testing services combine complementary functional measurements to characterize how compounds affect human cardiac tissue.
Select a single assay or combine multiple endpoints within a study designed around your compound's pharmacology and research objectives.
Acute Cardiac Contractility & Inotropy Assay
Quantify the acute effects of test compounds on human cardiac mechanical function using SmartHeart® ring-shaped 3D microtissues.
Brightfield video analysis measures drug-induced changes in contraction strain, contraction and relaxation kinetics, beating frequency and rhythm regularity.
The core assay has undergone fit-for-purpose qualification using seven reference compounds representing positive and negative inotropic activity.
Key readouts: contraction strain and derived contractile stress, beating frequency and interpeak irregularity, mean and maximum contraction speed, mean and maximum relaxation speed, contraction and relaxation timing, concentration-response relationships and EC50/IC50 estimates when supported by the data.
Applications: Inotropic liability assessment, cardiac efficacy profiling and compound-induced functional changes.
SmartHeart® human 3D cardiac microtissues exhibit a concentration-dependent increase in contraction strain following isoproterenol exposure (EC50 = 35.7 nM; n = 25 tissues, N = 3 independent experiments).
Cardiac electrophysiology & repolarization assay
Investigate drug-induced changes in cardiac electrical activity using optical membrane-potential imaging in human 3D cardiac microtissues.
The assay supports the characterization of action-potential waveforms, repolarization dynamics and electrical rhythm to provide mechanistic information relevant to cardiac safety investigations.
Key readouts: Action-potential duration (APD10, APD50 and APD90), waveform characteristics, repolarization kinetics, beating frequency and regularity.
Applications: Drug-induced electrophysiological changes, proarrhythmic mechanism investigations and complementary cardiac safety assessment.
SmartHeart® electrophysiology studies investigated compounds with different proarrhythmic risk profiles, including ranolazine, a clinically low-TdP-risk drug that can be overclassified in some 2D hiPSC-cardiomyocyte assays. The graphs illustrate the assessment of drug-induced changes in action potential amplitude and duration.
Cardiac calcium transient assay
Measure drug-induced changes in intracellular calcium dynamics using optical calcium-transient imaging.
Calcium handling is central to excitation–contraction coupling and can provide complementary information about compound effects on cardiac functional activity.
Key readouts: Calcium-transient amplitude, frequency, rise and decay kinetics, transient duration and beat-to-beat variability.
Nifedipine induces a concentration-dependent reduction in calcium transient duration, amplitude and maximum rise slope in SmartHeart® human 3D cardiac microtissues, illustrating the platform's ability to quantify drug-induced changes in calcium handling.
Applications: Calcium-handling assessment, excitation–contraction coupling investigations and mechanistic characterization of pharmacological responses.
Integrated cardiac functional screening
Combine quantitative contractility, optical electrophysiology and calcium-handling measurements to investigate compound-induced changes across complementary aspects of cardiac function.
The core SmartHeart® Contractility Assay has undergone fit-for-purpose qualification for acute inotropic screening. Electrophysiological and calcium-handling studies are selected and characterized according to the scientific objectives and experimental conditions of each project.
Integrated datasets support mechanistic interpretation, comparison of candidate compounds and the investigation of cardiac functional liabilities.
Key readouts: Contraction and relaxation kinetics, beating frequency and regularity, combined with action-potential parameters or calcium-transient dynamics.
Simultaneous measurement of intracellular calcium transients (green) and cardiac contractility (black) in SmartHeart® human 3D cardiac microtissues, illustrating the temporal coupling between calcium signaling and mechanical contraction.
Applications: Cardiac safety assessment, mechanistic investigations and pharmacological characterization of compound-induced functional responses.
Membrane-potential and calcium-sensitive dyes are used in separate assay configurations and are not combined in the same acquisition.
Evidence and assay qualification
SmartHeart® has been evaluated with reference compounds in human iPSC-derived 3D cardiac microtissues across contractility, optical electrophysiology and calcium-transient measurements.
Under its fit-for-purpose qualified acute contractility workflow, the assay identified the expected direction of effect for five positive and two negative inotropes across three independent experiments per compound.
Separate studies with CiPA reference compounds documented compound-specific changes in action-potential duration, beating activity and contractile function.
Interpretation is limited to the reported cell composition, exposure protocol and measurement conditions. These data do not establish regulatory qualification or clinical TdP prediction.
Cardiac Safety & Cardiotoxicity Testing
Investigate drug-induced cardiac functional alterations using complementary contractility, electrophysiology and calcium-handling assays.
SmartHeart® supports the characterization of changes in repolarization, beating activity, mechanical function and excitation–contraction coupling, providing human 3D tissue-level evidence for preclinical safety investigations.
Applications: Functional cardiotoxicity, inotropic liability assessment, proarrhythmic mechanism investigations and compound safety profiling.
Cardiac efficacy & disease modeling
Evaluate treatment-induced changes in human cardiac tissue function using quantitative measurements of contractility, relaxation and beating activity.
SmartHeart® supports pharmacological efficacy profiling and can serve as a platform for developing fit-for-purpose cardiac disease models around specific biological questions.
Applications: Positive inotropy assessment, cardiac compound efficacy, disease-relevant functional phenotyping and evaluation of treatment responses.
Cardiac safety and efficacy applications
4Dcell supports cardiac safety and efficacy investigations by measuring how drug candidates affect the functional behavior of human 3D cardiac tissues.
Our studies help research teams characterize pharmacological responses, investigate potential cardiac liabilities and assess treatment-induced changes in cardiac function.
Molecular, imaging & complementary cardiac assays
Complementary assays can be incorporated into SmartHeart® studies to investigate the biological mechanisms underlying cardiac functional responses.
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Targeted Gene Expression (qPCR): Quantification of selected cardiac, maturation and stress-response genes.
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Immunofluorescence & Structural Imaging: Assessment of sarcomeric organization, tissue structure and protein localization.
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Live Fluorescence Imaging: Monitoring of selected cellular responses using compatible fluorescent indicators.
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Transcriptome Profiling (RNA-seq): Investigation of gene-expression changes and associated biological pathways.
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Electrical Pacing: Controlled stimulation to assess cardiac responses under defined pacing conditions.
Methods are selected according to the experimental model, study objectives and technical feasibility.
Cardiac cell line & model qualification services
4Dcell supports the characterization and functional qualification of human cardiac cell sources and SmartHeart® models before pharmacological testing.
Studies may include assessment of tissue formation, morphology, baseline contractile activity and experimental variability to determine model suitability and identify potential optimization needs.
From study design to scientific reporting
Each 4Dcell cardiac study is designed around your compound, available pharmacological information, research question and required functional endpoints.
1. Define and design the study
We agree on the cellular model, compound concentrations, exposure conditions, controls, functional readouts and analysis strategy.
2. Perform and quality-control the experiments
Our scientists prepare the SmartHeart® microtissues, perform compound exposure, acquire the agreed measurements and apply assay-specific quality-control and statistical analysis procedures.
3. Report and interpret the results
You receive the agreed study methods and conditions, quantitative results, concentration–response curves where applicable, quality-control information, statistical analysis, scientific interpretation and relevant limitations.
EC50 or IC50 estimates are reported when supported by the experimental dataset.
Why choose 4Dcell for human cardiac testing?
Human 3D cardiac microtissues
Human iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes and cardiac fibroblasts form self-assembled, ring-shaped tissues.
Mechanically loaded tissue architecture
Cardiac microtissues contract around deformable hydrogel pillars, enabling quantitative measurements of tissue deformation.
96-Well experimental format
Nine cardiac microtissues per well support parallel functional measurements within a standardized plate format.
Complementary functional readouts
Contractility, electrophysiology and calcium-handling measurements provide distinct perspectives on drug-induced cardiac responses.
Fit-for-purpose assay qualification
The core SmartHeart® Contractility Assay has been qualified using seven reference compounds with positive and negative inotropic activity.
Scientific support and reporting
Studies are designed and performed by 4Dcell scientists, with quantitative analysis and interpretation adapted to the research objectives.
Frequently Asked Questions
Discuss your cardiac testing project
Whether you are investigating cardiac safety, characterizing inotropic effects or evaluating the functional activity of a drug candidate, 4Dcell scientists can help define an experimental approach suited to your research objectives.
Contact our team to discuss your compounds, required readouts and study design.