Medical and Industrial Applications of Microfluidic-based Cell/Tissue Culture and Organs-on-a-Chip

Recent developments in microfluidics have demonstrated the enormous potential of microscale cell culture for biology studies and recognized as instrumental in performing rapid and efficient experiments on small-sample volumes. Microfluidic-based cell culture is an area of research that keeps growing and gaining importance as a prominent technology, able to link scientific disciplines with industrial and clinical applications. In particular, organotypic cell culture and its integration in microfluidic devices would enable the realization of “in vivo-like” cell microenvironment within systems that are more amenable to automation and integration. Such remarkable advancement forms the foundation and motivation to transfer research from the laboratory to the field. Although the microfluidics and cell culture technologies have influenced many areas of science, significant research efforts are currently focused on finding methods to transform drug screening and toxicity testing from a system reliant on high-dose animal studies to one based primarily on human-relevant in vitro models. In line with regulatory developments precluding the use of animal testing, as well as fundamental differences in animal versus human, human in vitro methodologies, are required to replace the animal-based testes while permitting physiologically relevant model equivalents for superior prediction.

We are delighted to announce this Research Topic that intends to include the most relevant work in microfluidic-based cell culture, from state-of-the-art contributions to critical reviews on the topic which will highlight the new advances in this growing field with an emphasis on the interface between the technological advancements and high impact applications of commercial value, such as: drug screening, in vitro toxicology, disease modeling, personalized medicine, stem cells applications, in vitro diagnostics, bioprocessing technology.

The questions we aim to address in this collection are what will be the most effective way to utilize these emerging technologies to improve both drug development and the regulation of human exposure to chemicals. What technical challenges need to overcome? Can these technologies lead to measurable improvements in human health? We encourage researchers working in this area, from academia and industries, to submit full-length research papers, short communication, and review articles to meet the goal of this special topic collection.