Human gut-on-a-chip inhabited by microbial flora
2012
Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University, Boston, USA
The authors describe a biomimetic ‘human gut-on-a-chip’ microdevice composed of two microfluidic channels separated by a porous flexible membrane coated with extracellular matrix and lined by human intestinal epithelial cells, that mimics the complex structure and physiology of a living intestine. In addition, a normal intestinal microbe (Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG) can be successfully co-cultured for extended periods (>1 week), improving the barrier function as previously observed in humans. Thus, this gut-on-a-chip recapitulates multiple dynamic physical and functional features of the human intestine that are critical for its function within a controlled microfluidic environment that is amenable for transport, absorption, and toxicity studies, and hence it should have great value for drug testing as well as the development of novel intestinal disease models.
Human gut-on-a-chip inhabited by microbial flora that experiences intestinal peristalsis-like motions and flow
Donald E. Ingber
Added on: 10-12-2020
[1] https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2012/LC/c2lc40074j
