Microvasculature: An essential component for organ-on-chip systems

作者：Lee Hyunjae^*; Chung Minhwan; Jeon Noo Li

来源：MRS Bulletin, 2014, 39(1): 51-59.

DOI：10.1557/mrs.2013.286

• Biological
• biomaterial
• tissue
• biomedical
• devices

Improving the biological relevance of organs-on-chips is one of the main issues in biomedical engineering. The microvascular system is related to numerous biological phenomena throughout the life of organs. Although many in vitro microvascular systems have been developed, current organ-on-chip systems fail to fully integrate three-dimensional microvasculature, which results in decreased similarity of the systems with in vivo conditions. In this review, we propose that the microvascular system is an essential component for engineering organs-on-chips to achieve greater biological relevance. Various methods for engineering microvessels in vitro are reviewed, as well as recent representative efforts to engineer vascularized organs-on-chips. Material considerations for designing organs-on-chips are also reviewed.

• 出版日期2014-1