Current Advances and Future Perspectives of Liver-on-a-Chip Platforms Incorporating Dynamic Fluid Flow

Area of Science:

• Hepatology and Biomedical Engineering
• Development of advanced in vitro models for liver research

Background:

• The liver performs critical metabolic and synthetic functions, supported by its complex lobular structure.
• Traditional static liver models fail to replicate the dynamic in vivo microenvironment, impacting physiological relevance.
• Continuous blood flow and shear stress are essential for maintaining hepatocyte function and metabolic zonation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review recent advancements in dynamic liver microphysiological systems (MPS).
• To highlight the biomedical applications of these advanced liver models.
• To discuss future directions for creating more predictive in vitro liver models.

Main Methods:

• Development of microphysiological systems (MPS) that incorporate dynamic fluid flow.
• Utilizing these systems to model liver function under physiologically relevant conditions.
• Integration of liver MPS with other organ models in multi-organ-on-chip platforms.

Main Results:

• Dynamic liver MPS provide more physiologically relevant platforms compared to static cultures.
• These systems offer improved fidelity for drug screening, toxicity testing, and disease modeling.
• Multi-organ-on-chip platforms enable investigation of inter-organ crosstalk, enhancing translational potential.

Conclusions:

• Dynamic liver MPS represent a significant improvement over traditional in vitro models.
• These systems hold great promise for advancing liver research, drug development, and personalized medicine.
• Future research should focus on creating more comprehensive and predictive in vitro liver models.