Recent advances in liver‐on‐chips: Design, fabrication, and applications

Abstract

The liver is a multifunctional organ and the metabolic center of the human body. Most drugs and toxins are metabolized in the liver, resulting in varying degrees of hepatotoxicity. The damage of liver will seriously affect human health, so it is very important to study the prevention and treatment of liver diseases. At present, there are many research studies in this field. However, most of them are based on animal models, which are limited by the time‐consuming processes and species difference between human and animals. In recent years, liver‐on‐chips have emerged and developed rapidly and are expected to replace animal models. Liver‐on‐chips refer to the use of a small number of liver cells on the chips to simulate the liver microenvironment and ultrastructure in vivo. They hold extensive applications in multiple fields by reproducing the unique physiological functions of the liver in vitro. In this review, we first introduced the physiology and pathology of liver and then described the cell system of liver‐on‐chips, the chip‐based liver models, and the applications of liver‐on‐chips in liver transplantation, drug screening, and metabolic evaluation. Finally, we discussed the currently encountered challenges and future trends in liver‐on‐chips.

Modeling, applications and challenges of inner ear organoid

“…In addition, it needs to be noted that because the isolated and pooled supporting cells from the cochlea are cultured under homogenous conditions, precise information on cell type and anatomical structure is not available for cochlear organoids for cells that undergo damage or regeneration. Organoids can also be used to build organ chips for biomedical research and drug development 63,64 …”

Bioinspired bioassay platforms derived from colloidal crystals with topological shapes

“…Among them, microfluidics is a technology that can precisely modulate the fluid on a microscale. [ 89–100 ] Therefore, it can be used as a reliable method to generate droplets or fibers with tunable and uniform sizes. [ 62 , 101–108 ] For example, Zhang et al.…”

Electroacoustic Responsive Cochlea‐on‐a‐Chip

“…[ 17–19 ] In contrast, as an emerging platform for in vitro biomedical research, microfluidics‐based organ‐on‐chips is a more physiologically relevant in vitro model to simulate activities, mechanics, and physiological responses in the environment at the tissue and organ level. [ 20–24 ] Particularly, it can reconstruct the critical functions of specific tissues and organs of the human body, showing great advantages in drug screening and organ development research. Thus, it is conceived to develop a brand‐new platform for cochlear organoid culture and drug evaluation by integrating conductive hydrogel and microfluidic organ‐on‐chips technology.…”