Constant
search for the alternatives to animal testing keep pushing biotechnological
research forward. Scientist is currently developing new mock organs that can
fit in a palm of a hand.
Organ-on-a-chip
is a multi-channel 3-D microfluidic cell culture chip that simulates the
activities, mechanics and physiological responses of entire organs and organ
systems. The convergence of labs-on-chips (LOCs) and cell biology has permitted
the study of human physiology in an organ-specific context, introducing a novel model of in vitro multicellular
human organisms.
A lab-on-a-chip is a device that
integrates one or several laboratory functions on a single chip that deals with
handling particles in hollow microfluidic channels. Advantages in handling
particles at such a small scale include lowering fluid volume consumption
(lower reagents costs, less waste), increasing portability of the devices,
increasing process control (due to quicker thermo-chemical reactions) and decreasing
fabrication costs. Additionally, microfluidic flow is entirely laminar (i.e., no turbulence). Consequently,
there is virtually no mixing between neighboring streams in one hollow channel.
In cellular biology convergence, this rare property in fluids has been
leveraged to better study complex cell behaviors, such as cell motility in response to chemotactic stimuli,
stem cell
differentiation, axon guidance,
subcellular propagation of biochemical
signaling and embryonic development.
