Organs-on-a-Chip: A Focus on Compartmentalized Microdevices

Abstract

Advances in microengineering technologies have enabled a variety of insights into biomedical sciences that would not have been possible with conventional techniques. Engineering microenvironments that simulate in vivo organ systems may provide critical insight into the cellular basis for pathophysiologies, development, and homeostasis in various organs, while curtailing the high experimental costs and complexities associated with in vivo studies. In this article, we aim to survey recent attempts to extend tissue-engineered platforms toward simulating organ structure and function, and discuss the various approaches and technologies utilized in these systems. We specifically focus on microtechnologies that exploit phenomena associated with compartmentalization to create model culture systems that better represent the in vivo organ microenvironment.

Multisensor-integrated organs-on-chips platform for automated and continual in situ monitoring of organoid behaviors

“…To this end, the recently emerged organ-on-a-chip systems that combine advanced microfluidic technologies and tissue engineering approaches to simulate both the biology and physiology of human organs have been developed (8,(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30). These miniaturized human organ models have several advantages over conventional models, such as more accurate prediction of human responses and, in particular, multiorgan interactions when different organ modules are assembled in a single fluid circuit (7,31).…”

“…These miniaturized human organ models have several advantages over conventional models, such as more accurate prediction of human responses and, in particular, multiorgan interactions when different organ modules are assembled in a single fluid circuit (7,31). Although a majority of focus in the field has been placed on the construction of biomimetic organ models (7,15,(31)(32)(33), it is increasingly recognized that incorporating biosensing would allow for in situ monitoring of the status of these miniaturized organs (9,34). Such a need originates from the fact that many drugs can trigger chronic cellular reactions, whereas others may induce delayed cell responses.…”

Organ-on-a-Chip Platforms for Drug Delivery and Cell Characterization: A Review

“…Knowledge of these interactions will significantly improve our understanding of the nature of the human body at the tissue and cellular levels. (1) In addition, the development of new drugs and disease therapies will benefit if the interaction between specific cells and drugs can be screened directly. (2) In the longer term, the goal is to directly and precisely mimic the in vivo microenvironments and to understand their internal interactions with drugs.…”

“…(1,12) Such devices include the biological functions of organs and the biochemical, bioelectrical, and biomechanical properties of cellular microenvironments and extracellular matrixes (ECMs). Recent studies have demonstrated the feasibility of organ-on-a-chip systems, which can closely mimic in vivo tissues and provide platforms for drug delivery test and biological cell characterization.…”

“…Recent studies have demonstrated the feasibility of organ-on-a-chip systems, which can closely mimic in vivo tissues and provide platforms for drug delivery test and biological cell characterization. (1,8,13) In this review, specific examples of different types of organ-on-a-chip devices, such as lung-on-a-chip, heart-on-a-chip, vessel-on-a-chip, liver-on-a-chip, and tumor-on-achip, are presented. Working principles of those devices as well as their applications are provided.…”