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Scalable Fabrication of Stretchable, Dual Channel, Microfluidic Organ Chips
Published on: October 20, 2018
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3D Printing of Organs-On-Chips
Hee-Gyeong Yi1, Hyungseok Lee2, Dong-Woo Cho3
1Department of Mechanical Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Pohang, Kyungbuk 37673, Korea. yhg0709@postech.ac.kr.
Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland)
|September 28, 2017
Summary
3D printing enables advanced organ-on-a-chip (OOC) development by precisely arranging cells and biomaterials. This technology facilitates the creation of complex micro-organs for more reliable drug screening platforms.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Tissue Engineering
- Microfluidics
Background:
- Organ-on-a-chip (OOC) technology aims to replicate human organ physiology for drug testing.
- Current OOC fabrication methods face challenges in recapitulating native organ complexity and cellular heterogeneity.
- Extracellular matrix (ECM) and precise cellular arrangement are crucial for OOC functionality.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the advances and potential of 3D cell-printing in engineering organs-on-chips.
- To highlight how 3D printing overcomes limitations in OOC fabrication.
- To discuss the future perspectives of 3D-printed OOCs for drug screening.
Main Methods:
- 3D printing for precise spatial control of cells, ECM, and biomaterials.
- Microfabrication techniques for creating microfluidic devices.
- Integration of biological and engineering principles for OOC development.
Main Results:
- 3D printing allows for controlled layer-by-layer assembly of heterogeneous cell types and biomaterials.
- This enables the creation of OOCs with desired 3D cellular arrangements and tissue-specific functions.
- 3D-printed OOCs can incorporate additional components and facilitate automated production.
Conclusions:
- 3D cell-printing is a promising technology for advancing organ-on-a-chip engineering.
- It offers enhanced capabilities for creating complex, functional micro-organs.
- This technology holds significant potential for developing reliable and efficient drug-screening platforms.
