Abstract
Organ-on-a-Chip (OoC) systems bring together cell biology, engineering, and material science for creating systems that recapitulate the in vivo microenvironment of tissues and organs. The versatility of OoC systems enables in vitro models for studying physiological processes, drug development, and testing in both academia and industry. This paper evaluates current platforms from the academic end-user perspective, elaborating on usability, complexity, and robustness. We surveyed 187 peers in 35 countries and grouped the responses according to preliminary knowledge and the source of the OoC systems that are used. The survey clearly shows that current commercial OoC platforms provide a substantial level of robustness and usability—which is also indicated by an increasing adaptation of the pharmaceutical industry—but a lack of complexity can challenge their use as a predictive platform. Self-made systems, on the other hand, are less robust and standardized but provide the opportunity to develop customized and more complex models, which are often needed for human disease modeling. This perspective serves as a guide for researchers in the OoC field and encourages the development of next-generation OoCs.
Highlights
Organ-on-a-Chip (OoC) models combine microsystem technology, cell biology, and microfluidics to mimic organ functionality in vitro. They are on the verge of widespread use as new models for studying diseases and drug response/toxicity in both academia and the pharmaceutical industry [1]
The application of microfluidic systems in biological research has more than 20 years of history, dating back to the process of soft lithography using transparent and gas-permeable polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) [5]
We found that, according to the available information, only a few companies integrate tissue vascularization, whereby we define vascularization as a connection of the tissue or organ model to a network of functional microvascular vessels [12]
Summary
Organ-on-a-Chip (OoC) models combine microsystem technology, cell biology, and microfluidics to mimic organ functionality in vitro. They are on the verge of widespread use as new models for studying diseases and drug response/toxicity in both academia and the pharmaceutical industry [1]. A variety of platforms were developed from 2010 onwards when the first complex OoC, a lung-on-a-chip model, comprising a co-cultivation of lung alveolar and capillary cells on the two sides of a porous membrane, was presented [2]. Most of the commercial OoC platforms on the market to date address the needs of the pharmaceutical industry. Several studies have been conducted to analyze the industry’s requirements [3] for advancing OoC technology towards predictive drug screening and regulatory approval [4].
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