Organ-On-A-Chip: An Emerging Research Platform

Abstract

In drug development, conventional preclinical and clinical testing stages rely on cell cultures and animal experiments, but these methods may fall short of fully representing human biology. To overcome this limitation, the emergence of organ-on-a-chip (OOC) technology has sparked interest as a transformative approach in drug testing research. By closely replicating human organ responses to external signals, OOC devices hold immense potential in revolutionizing drug efficacy and safety predictions. This review focuses on the advancements, applications, and prospects of OOC devices in drug testing. Based on the latest advances in the field of OOC systems and their clinical applications, this review reflects the effectiveness of OOC devices in replacing human volunteers in certain clinical studies. This review underscores the critical role of OOC technology in transforming drug testing methodologies.

Keywords: Drug interactions; drug testing; human biology; organ-on-a-chip; toxicity.

Figure 1.

An outline of liver-on-a-chip, reproduced from, with permission from Elsevier.

Figure 2.

Liver-on-chip containing the Hepg2 cell line, reproduced from with permission from American Chemical Society.

Figure 3.

A magnetic stretching skin-on-a-chip.

Figure 4.

Vascularized skin-on-a-chip, reproduced from with the permission from springer nature.

Figure 5.

Choroid-on-a-chip depicting the choroid layer of the eye.