[35] Organ-on-a-chip Technology

Question 1

What is Organ-on-a-chip technology?

Answer 1

A type of artificial organ that simulates the activities, mechanics, and physiological response of entire organs and organ systems.

Question 2

What is the purpose of Organ-on-a-chip technology?

Answer 2

To create realistic models of human tissue that can be used in medical and biological research.

Question 3

What is the structure of an organ-on-a-chip?

Answer 3

Microfluidic cell culture chips that contain continuously perfused chambers inhabited by living cells arranged to simulate tissue- and organ-level physiology.

Question 4

How are the cells arranged in Organ-on-a-chip technology?

Answer 4

They are arranged to simulate tissue- and organ-level physiology.

Question 5

What are the main applications of Organ-on-a-chip technology?

Answer 5

• Drug discovery and development
• Disease modelling
• Personalized medicine

Question 6

How does Organ-on-a-chip technology aid in drug discovery and development?

Answer 6

It allows researchers to test the efficacy and toxicity of drugs in a more physiologically relevant context.

Question 7

How does Organ-on-a-chip technology aid in disease modelling?

Answer 7

It provides a human-relevant platform to study disease mechanisms and progression.

Question 8

How does Organ-on-a-chip technology aid in personalized medicine?

Answer 8

It allows the testing of individual patient responses to drugs, helping to select the best treatment for each patient.

Question 9

What is a Microfluidic cell culture chip?

Answer 9

A device that uses microfluidics to grow cells in a controlled environment mimicking the physiological conditions of a natural organ.

Question 10

What advantages does Organ-on-a-chip technology offer over traditional in-vitro cell culture and animal models?

Answer 10

More physiologically relevant data, reduced reliance on animal models, and potential for patient-specific disease modelling and treatment optimization.

Question 11

What organs have been modeled using Organ-on-a-chip technology?

Answer 11

• Lung
• Heart
• Intestine
• Liver
• Kidney

Question 12

How does a lung-on-a-chip work?

Answer 12

It mimics the mechanical movements of breathing and the biochemical environment of a human lung.

Question 13

How does a heart-on-a-chip work?

Answer 13

It replicates the physiological response of cardiac tissues like heart rate and contraction force.

Question 14

How does a intestine-on-a-chip work?

Answer 14

It emulates the peristaltic motion of the intestine and the nutrient absorption functions.

Question 15

How does a liver-on-a-chip work?

Answer 15

It reproduces the complex functions and microenvironment of a liver for studying drug metabolism and hepatotoxicity.

Question 16

How does a kidney-on-a-chip work?

Answer 16

It simulates the filtration and reabsorption functions of the kidney.

Question 17

What are the challenges associated with Organ-on-a-chip technology?

Answer 17

• Technological complexities in chip design and fabrication
• Challenges in scaling and standardization
• Regulatory considerations for clinical applications

Question 18

What is “body-on-a-chip”?

Answer 18

The integration of multiple organ-on-a-chip models on a single platform to mimic whole-body physiology and inter-organ interactions.

Question 19

How does body-on-a-chip help in drug testing?

Answer 19

It enables the study of the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of a drug throughout the body.

Question 20

How does Organ-on-a-chip technology contribute to the reduction of animal testing?

Answer 20

By providing more accurate human organ and system models for drug testing and disease modeling, thus reducing the need for animal models.