Imaging microphysiological systems: a review.

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Drug Discovery
• In Vitro Modeling

Background:

• Microphysiological systems (MPS), or organ-on-chips, mimic organ microenvironments for improved preclinical research.
• Despite interest, the pharmaceutical industry's adoption of MPS is limited by challenges in data acquisition.
• Robust, quantitative data extraction at scale is crucial for MPS to impact drug discovery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review imaging techniques applicable to microphysiological systems (MPS).
• To explore how imaging can enhance mechanistic biology understanding and high-throughput screening in drug discovery.
• To discuss challenges and requirements for scaling MPS imaging in pharmaceutical R&D.

Main Methods:

• Review of various microscopy imaging techniques applied to MPS, including organoids and organ-chips.
• Discussion of automation potential for increasing throughput and enabling compound screening.
• Analysis of data extraction requirements for quantitative analysis of MPS.

Main Results:

• Microscopy enables single-cell and subcellular resolution imaging in MPS.
• Automated imaging can increase throughput for compound screening and R&D efficiency.
• Imaging offers opportunities for mechanistic biology insights and broader drug discovery applications.

Conclusions:

• Scalable and quantitative imaging is essential for the successful adoption of MPS in drug discovery.
• Overcoming imaging challenges will enable wider application of MPS in pharmaceutical development.
• Further development is needed to meet the scale requirements for MPS in drug discovery projects.