Organ-on-a-Chip (Microfluidic Bio-MEMS)

Multi-channel microfluidic cell culture devices lined with living human cells that mimic organ-level fluid shear and mechanical strain.

Specifications & Metrics

type: Microphysiological System
organism: Primary human or iPSC-derived epithelial, endothelial, hepatic, cardiac, and barrier tissues
control mechanism: Laminar microfluidic perfusion across porous PDMS membranes with cyclic pneumatic mechanical stretching
pioneer: Donald E. Ingber and Dan Huh (Wyss Institute lung-on-a-chip, 2010) and multi-organ microphysiological consortia

Organ-on-a-chip devices fabricate hollow microchannels in optically clear polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) polymer separated by a porous extracellular-matrix-coated membrane lined on opposite sides by tissue epithelium and vascular endothelium.
Applying cyclic vacuum suction to side chambers stretches and relaxes the alveolar-capillary or intestinal barrier to reproduce physiological breathing motions or gut peristalsis alongside laminar fluid shear stress.
Microfluidic lung-, liver-, kidney-tubule-, and blood-brain-barrier-on-a-chip platforms model human drug absorption, first-pass hepatic metabolism, and organ-specific toxicity as non-animal preclinical alternatives.