SCIENTISTS have sniffed out a major advance in how medicines are tested for respiratory conditions including asthma - by developing a replica of a nose.

Researchers from the University of Southampton created a model which reproduces the lining of the nose to develop new drugs able to tackle respiratory diseases which often start in the nose before travelling down into the lungs.

The innovation is a close replica of the nasal cavity and its activities, including mucus and hair-like protrusions.

It will enable scientists to test drugs such as nasal sprays and other treatments created to tackle respiratory infections and will speed up the whole process.

The development would also make animal testing necessary.

Professor Jane Lucas, member of the study team based at the NIHR Southampton Respiratory Biomedical Research Unit, said: “By growing artificial nasal cavity cells in a dish in the laboratory, we are able to conduct initial tests very early on which, in turn, helps to speed up the research phase and the development of new drugs.”

She explained that nasal inhalers are effective only if they can go through the mucus and this model will help researchers to understand what need to be changed to ensure that the drugs are effecting patients as intended.

“In addition to the testing environment for new drugs, the lab model also offers the potential to enable us to look at aspects of particular conditions and investigate how or why certain issues occur and how we can tackle them”, Professor Lucas said.

“We can use the model in different ways. For example, we can add bacteria to the model and then use drugs to try and clear the infection.

"By measuring chemicals that are released by the nose cells and the bacteria we can improve our knowledge of how to treat infections more effectively.

“We can also investigate the responses of people with different diseases to various treatments for example the cells of people with asthma might respond differently to healthy people”, she added.

The team of Southampton students and researchers will work alongside scientists from all over the world who will come to town to learn how to use and develop this model.

Its development so far involved already collaboration Australian researchers.