Abstract

Organ-on-Chip Models For Medical Applications

Séverine Le Gac, Professor, Applied Microfluidics for Bioengineering Research, University of Twente

Organ-on-chip (OoC) platforms are currently considered as the next-generation in vitro models for various fields of applications such as drug and toxicity screening, disease modeling, tissue regeneration, metabolic studies, etc. Key advantages offered by these models compared to standard alternatives like 3D cell culture, are, for instance: (i) the possibility to accurately control the cellular microenvironment; (ii) to implement dynamic culture conditions in a microfluidic format; (iii) to emulate the architecture and/or the function of targeted organs by combining specific microfabricated structures with cells; and (iv) to stimulate the cells in the device, e.g., chemically, mechanically, and electrically, with an excellent spatiotemporal control.

In my presentation I will present current work from the group in the field of cancer research, and the implementation of biomechanical cues in OoCs, notably for the development of a cartilage model.