Developments in the use of microfluidics in synthetic biology

• Biomimetics aims to copy and imitate natural elements and systems in a simpler form to overcome the limitations of complex biological elements and systems. The construction of biomimetic platforms to investigate physiological conditions requires an understanding of the native structure of cells and tissues and their interactions. Thus synthetic biology effectively connects biology and engineering. The engineering of custom cells/organs involves the construction of seminatural models that either perform existing functions in a modified manner or perform functions that do not exist naturally. In addition to providing an understanding of biological approaches, artificial models allow the mimicking of human physiology and diseases, facilitating the discovery of new drugs. Microfluidics is one of the most advanced technologies that allow the studying, mimicking, and manipulation of biological behaviors. Microfluidic devices are miniaturized devices that are functionally integrated on a single platform. The continuous development of microfluidic technology has led to the generation of artificial cells/organs that are based on in vivo mimetic models. Hence, it offers promising approaches for drug analysis, investigation of diseases and toxicity pathways, and construction of artificial models and even synthetic cell/organ chassis. This chapter presents microfluidic innovations for cell-like and organ-like architectures that were developed to simplify the complex networks of cells and organs. The merging of synthetic biology and microfluidics has led to the successful generation of artificial cells and organ-on-a-chip models. These biomimetic microfluidic environments have reduced the technical difficulties that acted as obstacles to studying cellular biology, have allowed the investigation of cell-cell, cell-tissue, and organ-like interfaces, and have aided the discovery of new therapeutic agents. 

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi -- Biokemi och molekylärbiologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences -- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Artificial cells

Biomimicry

Drug carriers

Microbes-on-chip

Microfluidics

Organ-on-a-chip

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