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. 2022 Sep 7;122(18):14842–14880. doi: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.2c00212

Figure 6.

Figure 6

Construction of 3D neuronal circuits in microfluidic devices. (A) Layered neuronal circuits: Different neuronal types are embedded in hydrogel and pushed through microchannels in microfluidic devices to engineer 3D layers. Hydrogel-embedded neuronal cell blocks can be generated using PDMS devices and placed next to each other afterward. (B) Oriented and aligned networks: 3D hydrogel scaffolds supporting neuronal cells are aligned either by stretching the microfluidic device during the polymerization process or by applying hydrostatic pressure. Aligning collagen or Matrigel fibers enables the axons to be better guided from presynaptic to postsynaptic compartments and to thereby form unidirectional networks. (C) Spheroid-on-a-chip: High-throughput scaffold-free neurospheroid cultures are generated in perfused microwell microfluidic systems. Spheroid blocks from different neuronal cell types can be engineered and subsequently placed next to each other. (D) Organoid-on-a-chip: Growing brain and retinal organoids in microfluidic devices with improved diffusion extends their lifespan. (E) Organ-on-a-chip: By integrating additional cell types such as myocytes or endothelial cells, functional units like the motor unit or the blood–brain barrier (BBB) can be replicated in microfluidic platforms.

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