Engineering organ-on-a-chip systems to model viral infections

Abstract

Infectious diseases remain a public healthcare concern worldwide. Amidst the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, increasing resources have been diverted to investigate the therapeutics targeting COVID-19 Spike glycoprotein and to develop various classes of vaccines. Most of the current investigations employ two-dimensional (2D) cell culture and animal models. However, 2D culture negates the multicellular interactions and 3D microenvironment, and animal models cannot mimic human physiology because of interspecies differences. On the other hand, organ-on-a-chip (OoC) research devices introduce a game-changer to model viral infections in human tissues, facilitating high-throughput screening of antiviral therapeutics. In this context, this review provides an overview of the in vitro OoC-based modeling of viral infection, highlighting the strengths and challenges for the future directions.

Recent advances in point-of-care testing of COVID-19

“…In addition to the abovementioned devices, various POCT microfluidic devices have been constructed during the pandemic to detect SARS-CoV-2 RNA or antigen markers in saliva or plasma samples on-site. 65–68…”

“…In addition to the abovementioned devices, various POCT microfluidic devices have been constructed during the pandemic to detect SARS-CoV-2 RNA or antigen markers in saliva or plasma samples on-site. [65][66][67][68] Importantly, although PDMS/3D-printed microfluidic devices offer significant advantages, some limitations and challenges may still be associated with their precision and commercial production compared to traditional microfluidic chips. However, with advancements in materials science and manufacturing techniques, these devices' performances are continuously improving, and their applications are being expanded in COVID-19 diagnosis.…”

Three‐dimensional multicellular biomaterial platforms for biomedical application

“…[98] (2) In addition to the high controllability of cells, microfluidic chips also show high controllability of viruses, drugs, nanoparticles, and so forth. Therefore, microfluidic multicellular platforms are also widely used in drug screening, [102] viral infection, [103,104] nanoparticles effectiveness, [105] and other aspects. Villenave et al established a Coxsackievirus B1 (CVB1) multicellular model with human Caco-2 intestinal epithelial cells (ECs), which provided a biomimetic environment to study the polarization infection of villous epithelium.…”

Progress of Microfluidic Hydrogel‐Based Scaffolds and Organ‐on‐Chips for the Cartilage Tissue Engineering

“…Thus, OoC can either bridge the transitional gap between the patho/physiological processes in humans and in vitro platforms as well as animal models. [25][26][27] Generally, this technology deepens our understanding of the biology itself, by means of allowing us to understand how cells interact and regenerate during various injuries. The impacts of different therapeutic and environmental factors upon the behavior of cells in the regeneration process can also be identified.…”