Pro-adhesive extracellular matrix mimic for use in organ-on-a-CHIP

Pharmacotoxicology studies currently approved by the US FDA use only 2D static cell culture, which is not a good comparison to the complex structure and flow we find in vivo. 3D cell culture systems on microfluidic platforms could transform the way that we evaluate drug efficacy. Incorporation of gelatin electrospun nanofibers, containing submicron particles and cell binding peptides will drastically decrease time necessary for sufficient cell adhesion, proliferation and differentiation in organ-on-a-chip (OOC) research. Moreover, this scaffolding will improve realism of OOC by more closely mimicking native extracellular matrix (ECM). These improvements to the technology will provide results of cellular behavior in response to external stimuli, thus increasing realism in pharmaceutical testing. In this work we created an ECM-like substrate, which structurally and chemically mimics the basement structure healthy tissue, in a microfluidic system.