Table 1.
Biomimetic organ-on-a-chip developed for drug screening
| Organ/system | Type of chips | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|
| Brain | Brain development on a chip | Multiple types of brain cells including neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes, and endothelial cells are cultured in the chip system |
| Blood-brain barrier on a chip | The brain cells and blood vessels are separated by a membrane that acts like the blood-brain barrier | |
| Heart | Heart on a chip | The human iPSC-derived heart tissue in the chip is beating as a heart in the human body |
| Muscle | Muscle on a chip | The muscle cells to multiply and self-organize into bio-engineered muscle bundles |
| Lungs | Lungs on a chip | The bronchial smooth muscle cells (SMCs) based on an airway are in a chip to establish a healthy airway The healthy bronchial SMCs treated with a chemical (IL-13) to establish an asthmatic airway |
| Liver | Liver on a chip | A liver on a chip consisted with hepatocytes, stellate cells, Kupffer cells, and endothelial cells |
| Liver and heart on a chip | The human heart and liver tissues derived from hiPSC are on a chip | |
| Liver, heart and microvessels on a chip | The iPSC-derived liver cells added to a special biomaterial to create a liver module and integrated with similar modules with cardiac cells or microvasculature | |
| Kidneys | Kidney on a chip | The tiny human blood vessels were placed on a device that mimics the environment inside the human kidney |
| Gastrointestinal system |
Gut on a chip | It consists of gut tissue and nerves that stimulate the action of smooth muscle that controls gut motility |
| Female reproductive system |
Female reproductive tract on a chip | The top layer of the chip consists of multiple components that individually support the cervix, fallopian tubes, uterus and ovaries, which are integrated on the platform. The bottom two layers hold the tiny channels and ports that mimic the human environment |
| Blood vessels | Blood vessels on a chip | The bioengineered vessels can deliver oxygen and nutrients into the tissue, and contract and dilate in the human body do to help regulate body temperature and metabolism |
| Microvessels on a chip | Functional microvessels derived from iPSC form networks capable of fluid flow and deliver oxygen and nutrients to tissues | |
| Fat (adipose) | Adipose tissue on a chip | Human adipose tissue is on a 3D chip system |
| Skin | Skin on a chip | The iPSCs-derived skin cells in a 3D chip have transformed into different types of skin cells and organized themselves into layers as actual human skin |
| Disease models | Metastatic breast cancer in the liver | The breast cancer cells are placed on the liver chip system seeded to create a model of metastatic breast cancer in the liver |
| Rare heart and muscle condition | The cardiac chips using iPSCs from a patient with Barth syndrome displayed a weakened heartbeat and poorly organized structure that mimics a Barth syndrome patient’s heart | |
| Tumor with blood vessels | The tumor chip includes functioning blood vessels, which tumors in the body need to stay alive |
Various kinds of tissue-on-a-chips for drug screening programs developed by the Center for Advanced Translational Science (NCATS), US. hiPSC, human induced pluripotent stem cell. The information on the table was prepared by referring to the contents posted on the NCATS website (https://ncats.nih.gov/tissuechip/chip/) in August 2020.