Hepatocellular Carcinoma-on-a-Chip Based on Microfluidic Well Array for Personalized Drug Evaluation.
Sunhao Jiang1, Zhuhao Wu1, Rui Liu1
1Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Institute of Translational Medicine, College of Life Science, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China.
Advanced Healthcare Materials
|June 4, 2026
Summary
A novel hepatocellular carcinoma-on-a-chip platform enables personalized drug evaluation by creating 3D tumor spheroids and testing drug gradients. This technology aids in assessing therapeutic efficacy and capturing tumor heterogeneity for individualized treatment strategies.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Oncology
- Microfluidics
Background:
- Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) exhibits significant interpatient variability, complicating drug therapy.
- There is a critical need for personalized platforms to evaluate drug efficacy and account for tumor heterogeneity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a microfluidic hepatocellular carcinoma-on-a-chip platform for individualized drug evaluation.
- To create a system capable of high-throughput generation of 3D tumor spheroids and multi-dose drug screening.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of a stereo microfluidic well array chip using projection micro-stereolithography and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) molding.
- Controlled microfluidic flow for precise cell loading and uniform spheroid formation (approx. 2200 HCC spheroids per chip).
- Integration of modules for tumor spheroid formation and drug concentration gradient generation.
Main Results:
- Successful generation of uniform-sized, high-viability HCC spheroids under dynamic culture conditions.
- Demonstrated high-throughput drug screening capability using tunable, multiple concentration gradients.
- Validated the platform with patient-derived HCC samples, confirming its potential for drug screening.
Conclusions:
- The developed hepatocellular carcinoma-on-a-chip platform facilitates individualized drug evaluation by generating 3D spheroids and enabling multi-dose drug exposure.
- This technology serves as a proof-of-concept for a microfluidic spheroid-based drug screening platform.
- The platform lays the foundation for translational research in personalized oncology by incorporating clinical data.
