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Bioengineering
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Organs-on-Chips
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Organs-on-Chips

A special issue of Bioengineering (ISSN 2306-5354).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2019) | Viewed by 62567

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Virginia Pensabene

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
Interests: organs-on-chip; hybrid microfabrication; sensors; permeable membranes; ultrathin films; bioadhesives; reproductive toxicology; microphysiological systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The organs-on-a-chip field is only 10 years old, but it developed at lightning speed. Facing the need of the pharma industry and the academic world for more realistic and reliable human models for drug discovery, testing, and screening, tremendous effort and funding have been dedicated to the development of brain, liver, kidney, heart, and gut models as the main targets of therapeutics. Several groups later approached this technology to clarify the pathogenesis and phatophysiology of human diseases affecting other organs and systems (e.g., vasculature, skin, bone, cartilage, and reproductive organs). Interestingly, the organs-on-a-chip community grouped together experts from different disciplines and boosted innovation in nano/microfabrication, tissue engineering, and material science. Effective micro and meso fluidic models are now commercially available and enable long term growth and control of phenotypic characteristics of multiple cell types.

Thanks to their potential to revolutionize drug development, disease modeling, and personalized medicine, organs-on-a-chip have drastically reduced the use of animals in academic and industrial R&D, replaced traditional in vivo validation and preclinical trials in animals, and supported the refinement of in vitro methods and techniques.

By connecting organs, it is now possible to study how the physiology of a single organ is linked to its metabolism, its response to drugs or toxins, its immune system, and the hormal regulation of other organs.

This Special Issue thus aims to depict the current scenario in this field of animal and human organs-on-a-chip models. Reports on the development of anchillary technologies, such as on-chip or downstream sensing, perfusion systems, and engineering approaches to support cell development, are welcome. New strategies and revised approaches for manufacturing organs-on-a-chip will be included, including new techniques to solve the limitations of traditionally used plastics (e.g., molecules adsorption, hydrophobicity, and transparency), using alternative, sustainable, manufacturing processes and materials. Examples of contributions could address:

  • Animal and human organs-on-a-chip models
  • Validation of organs-on-a-chip models for drug testing and drug screening, toxicity, and toxicology studies
  • Novel methods of analysis of the organs’ effluents
  • Non perturbative analytical methods
  • Sensors integration and techniques for in situ monitoring
  • Multiple organs connections and validation

Dr. Virginia Pensabene
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Bioengineering is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • organs-on-a-chip
  • microfluidic
  • microphysiological systems
  • body-on-a-chip
  • drug discovery
  • animal testing

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Review

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18 pages, 5053 KiB  
Review
Recapitulating the Vasculature Using Organ-On-Chip Technology
by Andreas M.A.O. Pollet and Jaap M.J. den Toonder
Bioengineering 2020, 7(1), 17; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering7010017 - 18 Feb 2020
Cited by 53 | Viewed by 9458
Abstract
The development of Vasculature-on-Chip has progressed rapidly over the last decade and recently, a wealth of fabrication possibilities has emerged that can be used for engineering vessels on a chip. All these fabrication methods have their own advantages and disadvantages but, more importantly, [...] Read more.
The development of Vasculature-on-Chip has progressed rapidly over the last decade and recently, a wealth of fabrication possibilities has emerged that can be used for engineering vessels on a chip. All these fabrication methods have their own advantages and disadvantages but, more importantly, the capability of recapitulating the in vivo vasculature differs greatly between them. The first part of this review discusses the biological background of the in vivo vasculature and all the associated processes. We then evaluate the biological relevance of different fabrication methods proposed for Vasculature-on-Chip, we indicate their possibilities and limitations, and we assess which fabrication methods are capable of recapitulating the intrinsic complexity of the vasculature. This review illustrates the complexity involved in developing in vitro vasculature and provides an overview of fabrication methods for Vasculature-on-Chip in relation to the biological relevance of such methods. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Organs-on-Chips)
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16 pages, 845 KiB  
Review
Organs-On-Chip Models of the Female Reproductive System
by Vanessa Mancini and Virginia Pensabene
Bioengineering 2019, 6(4), 103; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering6040103 - 7 Nov 2019
Cited by 34 | Viewed by 20804
Abstract
Microfluidic-based technology attracts great interest in cell biology and medicine, in virtue of the ability to better mimic the in vivo cell microenvironment compared to conventional macroscale cell culture platforms. Recent Organs-on-chip (OoC) models allow to reproduce in vitro tissue and organ-level functions [...] Read more.
Microfluidic-based technology attracts great interest in cell biology and medicine, in virtue of the ability to better mimic the in vivo cell microenvironment compared to conventional macroscale cell culture platforms. Recent Organs-on-chip (OoC) models allow to reproduce in vitro tissue and organ-level functions of living organs and systems. These models have been applied for the study of specific functions of the female reproductive tract, which is composed of several organs interconnected through intricate endocrine pathways and communication mechanisms. To date, a disease and toxicology study of this system has been difficult to perform. Thus, there is a compelling need to develop innovative platforms for the generation of disease model and for performing drug toxicity/screening in vitro studies. This review is focused on the analysis of recently published OoC models that recreate pathological and physiological characteristics of the female reproductive organs and tissues. These models aim to be used to assess changes in metabolic activity of the specific cell types and the effect of exposure to hormonal treatment or chemical substances on some aspects of reproduction and fertility. We examined these models in terms of device specifications, operating procedures, accuracy for studying the biochemical and functional activity of living tissues and the paracrine signalling that occurs within the different tissues. These models represent a powerful tool for understanding important diseases and syndromes affecting women all around the world. Immediate adoption of these models will allow to clarify diseases, causes and adverse events occurring during pregnancy such as pre-eclampsia, infertility or preterm birth, endometriosis and infertility. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Organs-on-Chips)
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16 pages, 1083 KiB  
Review
Advanced Organ-on-a-Chip Devices to Investigate Liver Multi-Organ Communication: Focus on Gut, Microbiota and Brain
by Lucia Boeri, Luca Izzo, Lorenzo Sardelli, Marta Tunesi, Diego Albani and Carmen Giordano
Bioengineering 2019, 6(4), 91; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering6040091 - 28 Sep 2019
Cited by 30 | Viewed by 9776
Abstract
The liver is a key organ that can communicate with many other districts of the human body. In the last few decades, much interest has focused on the interaction between the liver and the gut microbiota, with their reciprocal influence on biosynthesis pathways [...] Read more.
The liver is a key organ that can communicate with many other districts of the human body. In the last few decades, much interest has focused on the interaction between the liver and the gut microbiota, with their reciprocal influence on biosynthesis pathways and the integrity the intestinal epithelial barrier. Dysbiosis or liver disorders lead to0 epithelial barrier dysfunction, altering membrane permeability to toxins. Clinical and experimental evidence shows that the permeability hence the delivery of neurotoxins such as LPS, ammonia and salsolinol contribute to neurological disorders. These findings suggested multi-organ communication between the gut microbiota, the liver and the brain. With a view to in vitro modeling this liver-based multi-organ communication, we describe the latest advanced liver-on-a-chip devices and discuss the need for new organ-on-a-chip platforms for in vitro modeling the in vivo multi-organ connection pathways in physiological and pathological situations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Organs-on-Chips)
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18 pages, 1419 KiB  
Review
Brain Organoids—A Bottom-Up Approach for Studying Human Neurodevelopment
by Eyal Karzbrun and Orly Reiner
Bioengineering 2019, 6(1), 9; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering6010009 - 18 Jan 2019
Cited by 33 | Viewed by 12123
Abstract
Brain organoids have recently emerged as a three-dimensional tissue culture platform to study the principles of neurodevelopment and morphogenesis. Importantly, brain organoids can be derived from human stem cells, and thus offer a model system for early human brain development and human specific [...] Read more.
Brain organoids have recently emerged as a three-dimensional tissue culture platform to study the principles of neurodevelopment and morphogenesis. Importantly, brain organoids can be derived from human stem cells, and thus offer a model system for early human brain development and human specific disorders. However, there are still major differences between the in vitro systems and in vivo development. This is in part due to the challenge of engineering a suitable culture platform that will support proper development. In this review, we discuss the similarities and differences of human brain organoid systems in comparison to embryonic development. We then describe how organoids are used to model neurodevelopmental diseases. Finally, we describe challenges in organoid systems and how to approach these challenges using complementary bioengineering techniques. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Organs-on-Chips)
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Other

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14 pages, 1639 KiB  
Perspective
Bioengineering an Artificial Human Blood–Brain Barrier in Rodents
by Kimia Kamal and Ben Waldau
Bioengineering 2019, 6(2), 38; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering6020038 - 30 Apr 2019
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 9002
Abstract
Our group has recently created a novel in-vivo human brain organoid vascularized with human iPSC-derived endothelial cells. In this review article, we discuss the challenges of creating a perfused human brain organoid model in an immunosuppressed rodent host and discuss potential applications for [...] Read more.
Our group has recently created a novel in-vivo human brain organoid vascularized with human iPSC-derived endothelial cells. In this review article, we discuss the challenges of creating a perfused human brain organoid model in an immunosuppressed rodent host and discuss potential applications for neurosurgical disease modeling. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Organs-on-Chips)
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