Advances in dynamic microphysiological organ-on-a-chip: Design principle and its biomedical application

Abstract Recently, microfluidic organomimetic technology with precise spatiotemporal fluid control has offered unprecedented benefits to create physiologically-relevant in vitro organ models by recapitulating subtle organ-specific variations. The fundamental design principle of the microfluidic organ-on-a-chip (OoC) platform is founded on ‘reverse engineering’ living organs, which are deconstructed to recapitulate their essential function. In addition, OoC has leveraged recapitulation of multiorgan-level function with inter-connection and has modeled human pathophysiology. This review aims to highlight recent advances of the microphysiological dynamic OoC platform, exploring its biomedical and personalized medicine applications. We will discuss the critical aspects of OoC development and provide guidance to researchers to build physiologically-relevant OoCs in terms of cell source, perfusion flow, micro-sized biomimetic organ architecture, and mechanobiological motion. Finally, future directions for multi-OoCs are discussed along with the technical challenges encountered in drug development pipelines of the pharmaceutical industry.