Microfluidic Skin‐on‐a‐Chip Models: Toward Biomimetic Artificial Skin

Sutterby, Emily; Thurgood, Peter; Baratchi, Sara; Khoshmanesh, Khashayar; Pirogova, Elena

doi:10.1002/smll.202002515

Cited by 91 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 129 publications

(179 reference statements)

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“…Republished with permission from Sutterby et al , Small 16 , 39 (2020). Copyright 2021 John Wiley and Sons, permission conveyed through Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. 5 (b) Histological section. Modified image.…”

Section: Skin Structure and Functionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…From a biological point of view, skin is a three-dimensional tissue composed of different layers and various cell types organized in a very determined manner, with a relevant and complex crosstalk between keratinocytes and fibroblasts that has to be considered when designing these models. 5 Nevertheless, most researchers have simplified the skin model to single monolayers for the difficulties entailed during the cell seeding process. For this reason, the general trend is to manually introduce the cells inside the microfluidic channels using a micropipette instead of using controlled and automated systems such as syringe pumps.…”

Section: Challenges and Future Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Skin-on-a-chip models: General overview and future perspectives

et al. 2021

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Over the last few years, several advances have been made toward the development and production of in vitro human skin models for the analysis and testing of cosmetic and pharmaceutical products. However, these skin models are cultured under static conditions that make them unable to accurately represent normal human physiology. Recent interest has focused on the generation of in vitro 3D vascularized skin models with dynamic perfusion and microfluidic devices known as skin-on-a-chip. These platforms have been widely described in the literature as good candidates for tissue modeling, as they enable a more physiological transport of nutrients and permit a high-throughput and less expensive evaluation of drug candidates in terms of toxicity, efficacy, and delivery. In this Perspective, recent advances in these novel platforms for the generation of human skin models under dynamic conditions for in vitro testing are reported. Advances in vascularized human skin equivalents (HSEs), transferred skin-on-a-chip (introduction of a skin biopsy or a HSE in the chip), and in situ skin-on-a-chip (generation of the skin model directly in the chip) are critically reviewed, and currently used methods for the introduction of skin cells in the microfluidic chips are discussed. An outlook on current applications and future directions in this field of research are also presented.

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Section: Skin Structure and Functionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Challenges and Future Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Skin-on-a-chip models: General overview and future perspectives

et al. 2021

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“…We believe that to achieve hair growth in an in vitro model, a strict time-and nutrient-controlled protocol for each phase of HF development is crucial (Lee et al, 2020). To establish such an in vitro HF-neogenesis model, the use of microfluidic devices is essential as they can greatly facilitate spatiotemporal control of the cell microenvironment and allow gradual changes to the cellular milieu, e.g., growth factors and signaling molecules (Sutterby et al, 2020). Moreover, another aspect that needs to be considered is the establishment of standardized protocols for obtaining and culturing a purified human adult HF progenitor cell population, and how to transplant this HF progenitor cell pool into a relevant niche.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Back to the Future: From Appendage Development Toward Future Human Hair Follicle Neogenesis

Groot

Ulrich

Gho

et al. 2021

Front. Cell Dev. Biol.

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Hair disorders such as alopecia and hirsutism often impact the social and psychological well-being of an individual. This also holds true for patients with severe burns who have lost their hair follicles (HFs). HFs stimulate proper wound healing and prevent scar formation; thus, HF research can benefit numerous patients. Although hair development and hair disorders are intensively studied, human HF development has not been fully elucidated. Research on human fetal material is often subject to restrictions, and thus development, disease, and wound healing studies remain largely dependent on time-consuming and costly animal studies. Although animal experiments have yielded considerable and useful information, it is increasingly recognized that significant differences exist between animal and human skin and that it is important to obtain meaningful human models. Human disease specific models could therefore play a key role in future therapy. To this end, hair organoids or hair-bearing skin-on-chip created from the patient’s own cells can be used. To create such a complex 3D structure, knowledge of hair genesis, i.e., the early developmental process, is indispensable. Thus, uncovering the mechanisms underlying how HF progenitor cells within human fetal skin form hair buds and subsequently HFs is of interest. Organoid studies have shown that nearly all organs can be recapitulated as mini-organs by mimicking embryonic conditions and utilizing the relevant morphogens and extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. Therefore, knowledge of the cellular and ECM proteins in the skin of human fetuses is critical to understand the evolution of epithelial tissues, including skin appendages. This review aims to provide an overview of our current understanding of the cellular changes occurring during human skin and HF development. We further discuss the potential implementation of this knowledge in establishing a human in vitro model of a full skin substitute containing hair follicles and the subsequent translation to clinical use.

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“…Animal models are both time- and resource-consuming, involve ethical issues, and may not reflect the nature of the human organism. A promising solution is merging novel three-dimensional culturing techniques, which would better represent the interactions of in vivo conditions, and microfluidic platforms for an accurate control of the physical and biochemical parameters of the system [ 15 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent Impact of Microfluidics on Skin Models for Perspiration Simulation

2021

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Skin models offer an in vitro alternative to human trials without their high costs, variability, and ethical issues. Perspiration models, in particular, have gained relevance lately due to the rise of sweat analysis and wearable technology. The predominant approach to replicate the key features of perspiration (sweat gland dimensions, sweat rates, and skin surface characteristics) is to use laser-machined membranes. Although they work effectively, they present some limitations at the time of replicating sweat gland dimensions. Alternative strategies in terms of fabrication and materials have also showed similar challenges. Additional research is necessary to implement a standardized, simple, and accurate model representing sweating for wearable sensors testing.

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Microfluidic Skin‐on‐a‐Chip Models: Toward Biomimetic Artificial Skin

Cited by 91 publications

References 129 publications

Skin-on-a-chip models: General overview and future perspectives

Skin-on-a-chip models: General overview and future perspectives

Back to the Future: From Appendage Development Toward Future Human Hair Follicle Neogenesis

Recent Impact of Microfluidics on Skin Models for Perspiration Simulation

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