Brain-on-a-chip: Recent advances in design and techniques for microfluidic models of the brain in health and disease

Leyla Amirifar; Amir Shamloo; Rohollah Nasiri; Natan Roberto de Barros; Ze Zhong Wang; Bige Deniz Unluturk; Alberto Libanori; Oleksandr Ievglevskyi; Sibel Emir Diltemiz; Samuel Sances; Ilangko Balasingham; Stephanie K Seidlits; Nureddin Ashammakhi

doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2022.121531

Brain-on-a-chip: Recent advances in design and techniques for microfluidic models of the brain in health and disease

Biomaterials. 2022 Jun:285:121531. doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2022.121531. Epub 2022 Apr 21.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran.
² Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran; Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
³ Bioprocess and Biotechnology Department, São Paulo State University (Unesp), School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Araraquara, Brazil.
⁴ Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
⁵ Institute for Quantitative Health Science and Engineering and Department of Biomedical Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, USA.
⁶ The Intervention Center, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway; Department of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
⁷ Department of Chemistry, Eskisehir Technical University, Eskisehir, Turkey.
⁸ Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
⁹ Department of Electronic Systems, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway; The Intervention Center, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
¹⁰ Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA. Electronic address: seidlits@g.ucla.edu.
¹¹ Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Institute for Quantitative Health Science and Engineering and Department of Biomedical Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, USA. Electronic address: n.ashammakhi@ucla.edu.

PMID: 35533441
DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2022.121531

Abstract

Recent advances in biomaterials, microfabrication, microfluidics, and cell biology have led to the development of organ-on-a-chip devices that can reproduce key functions of various organs. Such platforms promise to provide novel insights into various physiological events, including mechanisms of disease, and evaluate the effects of external interventions, such as drug administration. The neuroscience field is expected to benefit greatly from these innovative tools. Conventional ex vivo studies of the nervous system have been limited by the inability of cell culture to adequately mimic in vivo physiology. While animal models can be used, their relevance to human physiology is uncertain and their use is laborious and associated with ethical issues. To date, organ-on-a-chip systems have been developed to model different tissue components of the brain, including brain regions with specific functions and the blood brain barrier, both in normal and pathophysiological conditions. While the field is still in its infancy, it is expected to have major impact on studies of neurophysiology, pathology and neuropharmacology in future. Here, we review advances made and limitations faced in an effort to stimulate development of the next generation of brain-on-a-chip devices.

Keywords: Biomaterials; Brain; Microfluidics; Neuroscience; Organ-on-a-chip.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

Animals
Biocompatible Materials
Blood-Brain Barrier
Lab-On-A-Chip Devices*
Microfluidics* / methods
Microtechnology

Substances

Biocompatible Materials

Grants and funding

UG3 TR003148/TR/NCATS NIH HHS/United States