Controlling Differentiation of Stem Cells for Developing Personalized Organ-on-Chip Platforms

Armin Geraili; Parya Jafari; Mohsen Sheikh Hassani; Behnaz Heidary Araghi; Mohammad Hossein Mohammadi; Amir Mohammad Ghafari; Sara Hasanpour Tamrin; Hassan Pezeshgi Modarres; Ahmad Rezaei Kolahchi; Samad Ahadian; Amir Sanati-Nezhad

doi:10.1002/adhm.201700426

Controlling Differentiation of Stem Cells for Developing Personalized Organ-on-Chip Platforms

Adv Healthc Mater. 2018 Jan;7(2). doi: 10.1002/adhm.201700426. Epub 2017 Sep 14.

Authors

Armin Geraili^{1

2}, Parya Jafari^{2

3}, Mohsen Sheikh Hassani⁴, Behnaz Heidary Araghi⁵, Mohammad Hossein Mohammadi^{6

7}, Amir Mohammad Ghafari⁸, Sara Hasanpour Tamrin⁹, Hassan Pezeshgi Modarres⁹, Ahmad Rezaei Kolahchi⁹, Samad Ahadian^{6

7}, Amir Sanati-Nezhad^{9

10}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Azadi, Tehran, 14588-89694, Iran.
² Graduate Program in Biomedical Engineering, Western University, London, N6A 5B9, ON, Canada.
³ Department of Electrical Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Azadi, Tehran, 14588-89694, Iran.
⁴ Department of Systems and Computer Engineering, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, K1S 5B6, ON, Canada.
⁵ Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Azadi, Tehran, 14588-89694, Iran.
⁶ Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 3G9, Canada.
⁷ Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3E5, Canada.
⁸ Department of Stem Cells and Developmental Biology, Cell Science Research Center, Royan Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Technology, Tehran, 16635-148, Iran.
⁹ BioMEMS and Bioinspired Microfluidic Laboratory (BioM), Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive N.W., Calgary, T2N 1N4, AB, Canada.
¹⁰ Center for Bioengineering Research and Education, Biomedical Engineering Program, University of Calgary, Calgary, T2N 1N4, AB, Canada.

PMID: 28910516
DOI: 10.1002/adhm.201700426

Abstract

Organ-on-chip (OOC) platforms have attracted attentions of pharmaceutical companies as powerful tools for screening of existing drugs and development of new drug candidates. OOCs have primarily used human cell lines or primary cells to develop biomimetic tissue models. However, the ability of human stem cells in unlimited self-renewal and differentiation into multiple lineages has made them attractive for OOCs. The microfluidic technology has enabled precise control of stem cell differentiation using soluble factors, biophysical cues, and electromagnetic signals. This study discusses different tissue- and organ-on-chip platforms (i.e., skin, brain, blood-brain barrier, bone marrow, heart, liver, lung, tumor, and vascular), with an emphasis on the critical role of stem cells in the synthesis of complex tissues. This study further recaps the design, fabrication, high-throughput performance, and improved functionality of stem-cell-based OOCs, technical challenges, obstacles against implementing their potential applications, and future perspectives related to different experimental platforms.

Keywords: biomaterials; differentiation; drug discovery; microfluidics; organ-on-chip; stem cells; tissue engineering.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Animals
Biocompatible Materials
Humans
Lab-On-A-Chip Devices*
Microfluidics / methods
Stem Cells / cytology*
Tissue Engineering / methods

Substances

Biocompatible Materials