Air-blood barrier (ABB) on a chip

The alveolus, acting as the physiological barrier between the respiratory system and outside, could be identified to the functionally air-blood barrier (ABB) system consisting of the alveolar epithelium, endothelium and the basement membrane. Since the occurrence and development of distal respiratory diseases are always accompanied with the changes of the structure and physiological function of ABB, the establishment of a reliable ABB model in vitro plays a critical role in disease investigation and drug development. Beside the non-humanized rodent models and the harsh ex vivo models, The ABB-on-a-chip based on microfluidics and organizational engineering has been deemed to the ideal model for the investigation of diseases and the drug development via selecting the suitable cell lines and setting the proper biological and physical microenvironment. Here, the construction and the underlying potential of ABB chips and their applications in diseases research and drug development in recent years will be reviewed.