Physiologically relevant and broadly applicable liver cell culture platforms are of great importance in both drug development and disease modeling. Organ-on-a-chip systems offer a promising alternative to conventional, static 2D cultures, providing much-needed cues such as perfusion, shear stress and 3D cell-cell communication. However, such devices cover a broad range of complexity both in manufacture and in implementation. In this review, we summarize the key features of the human liver that should be reflected in a physiologically relevant liver-on-a-chip model. We also discuss different material properties of importance in producing liver-on-a-chip devices, and summarize recent and current progress in the field, highlighting different types of devices at different levels of complexity.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.