title: Microfluidic Organ/Body-on-a-Chip Devices at the Convergence of Biology and Microengineering.
abstract: Recent advances in biomedical technologies are mostly related to the convergence of biology with microengineering. For instance, microfluidic devices are now commonly found in most research centers, clinics and hospitals, contributing to more accurate studies and therapies as powerful tools for drug delivery, monitoring of specific analytes, and medical diagnostics. Most remarkably, integration of cellularized constructs within microengineered platforms has enabled the recapitulation of the physiological and pathological conditions of complex tissues and organs. The so-called "organ-on-a-chip" technology, which represents a new avenue in the field of advanced in vitro models, with the potential to revolutionize current approaches to drug screening and toxicology studies. This review aims to highlight recent advances of microfluidic-based devices towards a body-on-a-chip concept, exploring their technology and broad applications in the biomedical field.
authors.affiliation: International Clinical Research Center (ICRC), Integrated Center of Cellular Therapy and Regenerative Medicine (ICCT), St. Anne's University Hospital, Brno 656 91, Czech Republic. ana.rubina.perestrelo@fnusa.cz.
authors.forename: Ana Rubina
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Perestrelo
authors.affiliation: Center for Biomedical Research, University of Algarve, Faro 8005-139, Portugal. acaguas@ualg.pt.
authors.forename: Ana C P
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Águas
authors.affiliation: Tissue Engineering Unit, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Rome 00128, Italy. a.rainer@unicampus.it.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rainer
authors.affiliation: International Clinical Research Center (ICRC), Integrated Center of Cellular Therapy and Regenerative Medicine (ICCT), St. Anne's University Hospital, Brno 656 91, Czech Republic. giancarlo.forte@fnusa.cz.|Department of Biomaterials Science, University of Turku, Turku 20014, Finland. giancarlo.forte@fnusa.cz.
authors.forename: Giancarlo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Forte
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D035843:Biomedical Research; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D055617:Micro-Electrical-Mechanical Systems; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques; D008954:Models, Biological; D046888:Tissue Array Analysis; D023822:Tissue Engineering
keywords: BioMEMs; body-on-a-chip; microfluidics; organ-on-a-chip; tissue engineering