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Scalable Fabrication of Stretchable, Dual Channel, Microfluidic Organ Chips
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Microfabrication of human organs-on-chips
Dongeun Huh1, Hyun Jung Kim, Jacob P Fraser
11] Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. [2] Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Nature Protocols
|October 12, 2013
Summary
Researchers developed a protocol for creating organ-on-chip systems using microfluidic devices lined with human cells. These biomimetic models replicate organ functions for drug testing and disease modeling, offering alternatives to animal studies.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Microfluidics
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Organs-on-chips are microengineered systems using microfluidic channels lined with living human cells.
- These systems mimic key functional units of human organs to replicate pathophysiology in vitro.
- They offer potential low-cost alternatives to animal models for pharmaceutical, chemical, and environmental applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe a protocol for fabricating, microengineering, and operating microfluidic organ-on-chip systems.
- To demonstrate the creation of a 'breathing' lung-on-a-chip.
- To show adaptability for other organ chips, such as a gut-on-a-chip.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of a multilayered microfluidic device with parallel microchannels separated by a porous membrane and vacuum chambers.
- Culture of human cells (e.g., alveolar epithelial and endothelial cells) within the microdevice.
- Application of physiological flow and cyclic suction to mimic organ-specific mechanical functions (e.g., breathing movements, peristalsis).
Main Results:
- Successful fabrication of a microfluidic device in approximately 3.5 days.
- Creation of a 'breathing' lung-on-a-chip mimicking the alveolar-capillary interface.
- Demonstration of adaptability to create other organ chips, like a gut-on-a-chip with peristalsis-like motion.
Conclusions:
- The described protocol enables the creation and operation of versatile organ-on-chip systems.
- These biomimetic in vitro models can replicate integrated human organ-level pathophysiology.
- The technology holds promise for drug efficacy/toxicity testing and in vitro disease modeling, potentially reducing reliance on animal models.
