Organs-on-Chips, Volume 2

Dear Colleagues,

The interest in fast, high-throughput, and reliable systems to speed up drug discovery and the screening of new drugs is increasing in these critical times, and organs-on-chips represent a key technology to answer the needs of researchers in academia and industry.

The research community is developing more effective models of human physiology and adopting techniques from microfluidics, omics analysis, materials science, and pharmacology, and the technology is rapidly changing, reflecting the advancements of the last 10 years.

Organs-on-chips have been applied to clarify the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of human diseases affecting one or multiple organs and systems (e.g., vasculature, skin, bone, cartilage, and reproductive organs).

Recent examples show that it is now possible to study the physiology of a single organ and link it to its metabolism, its response to drugs or toxins, its immune system, and the hormonal regulation of other organs. Interestingly, the organs-on-chips community groups together experts from different disciplines and has boosted innovation in nano/microfabrication, tissue engineering, and material science.

Effective micro- and mesofluidic models are now commercially available and enable the long-term growth and control of the phenotypic characteristics of multiple cell types.

Thanks to their potential to revolutionize drug development, disease modeling, and personalized medicine, organs-on-chips have drastically reduced the use of animals in academic and industrial R&D, replaced traditional in vivo validation and preclinical trials in animals, and supported the refinement of in vitro methods and techniques. 

This Special Issue aims to collect top research outcomes that represent the current scenario in this field of animal and human organs-on-chips models. We welcome reports on the development of ancillary technologies such as on-chip or downstream sensing, perfusion systems, and engineering approaches to support cell development. New strategies and revised approaches for manufacturing organs-on-chips will be included, including new techniques to solve the limitations of traditionally used plastics (e.g., molecules adsorption, hydrophobicity, and transparency), using alternative and sustainable manufacturing processes and materials. Examples of contributions could address:

• Animal and human organs-on-chips models;
• Validation of organs-on-chips models for drug testing and drug screening, toxicity, and toxicology studies;
• Novel methods for the analysis of organs’ effluents;
• Non-perturbative analytical methods;
• Sensors integration and techniques for in situ monitoring;
• Multiple organs connections and validation.

The journals Bioengineering and Life is jointly publishing a Special Issue covering the topic "Organs-on-Chips".

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Bioengineering.

Dr. Virginia Pensabene
Guest Editor

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• Organs-on-Chips, Volume 2 in Bioengineering (4 articles)