Human Organs-on-Chips for In Vitro Disease Models

Dear Colleagues,

The first generation of biomimetic microphysiological systems, so called “Human Organs-on-Chips”, has presented prodigious potential to reconstitute the 3D microarchitecture as well as the mechanical dynamics of human organs. In these engineered microsystem surrogate models, organ-level functions and in vivo relevant physiological responses have been recapitulated wherein the tissue-specific interactions may be in response to chemical (drugs, toxins, nutrients), physical (fluid shear stresses, mechanical deformations), or biological stimulations (microbiome, immune cells) and can be manipulated in a spatiotemporal manner.

With the breakthroughs of human organs-on-chips, the concept of “Biomimetic Reverse Engineering” that selects a minimal set of key pathophysiological factors has provided promising clues not only for the structural and functional reconstitution of human organs, but also for the modular recapitulation of a complex living system. For instance, by leveraging the microphysiological system, we can now decouple the complex pathophysiological factors contributing to diseases, then recouple the key interacting factors involved in the specific disease process.

Here, we envision that the next generation of the human organs-on-chips may rapidly validate the safety and efficacy of drug candidates, precisely dissect the complicated disease development, or faithfully assess the in vivo responses during clinical interventions. We may also contemplate to recruit human patient samples, integrate 3D organoid culture technology, replace synthetic materials with programmable biomaterials, rebuild sophisticated organ microarchitecture via 3D printing technology, or incorporate nanotechnology and bioelectronics-based sensing and detection modules in combination with the organs-on-chips.

We announce the Special Issue “Human Organs-on-Chips for In Vitro Disease Models” to come up with comprehensive understanding of the current state-of-the-art technologies in combination with the human microphysiological systems to emulate human diseases.

We look forward to receiving your contributions for this Special Issue.

Dr. Hyun Jung Kim
Guest Editor

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