THE LINE-UP

Which organ chip?

Each organ chip copies the one or two features that matter most for its question: an air-liquid interface for the lung, drug metabolism for the liver, beating for the heart.

An organ chip is chosen for the question, not for its looks.

LUNG AND GUT

Barriers that move

🫁

Lung

Air above, flow below and rhythmic stretch; used for infections, inflammation and lung swelling caused by drugs

🦠

Gut

Folds like villi, rhythmic stretch, and bacteria living alongside the cells

💊

Absorption

Gut chips estimate how much of a swallowed drug gets into the body

Lung and gut chips show why mechanical motion matters for tissue.

LIVER, KIDNEY AND HEART

Where drugs do damage

🫀

Liver Hepatocytes metabolize drugs; drug-induced liver injury is a leading reason drugs fail or are withdrawn

Kidney Tubule cells under flow reveal drugs that damage the kidney's filter

Heart Beating tissue shows effects on rhythm and contraction

Measured by Released proteins, enzymes and beating rate

Toxicity testing in liver, kidney and heart is one of the main jobs for organ chips.

LAYOUTS

Sandwiches, lanes and tubes

The two-channel sandwich with a membrane is easy to image and measure. Side-by-side gel lanes let cells touch in 3D with no plastic in between. Hollow tubes in gel look most like real vessels.

There is no best layout, only one that fits the question.

MODELLING DISEASE

Chips that get sick

🦠

Infection

Lung and gut chips have been infected with viruses and bacteria to test treatments

🎗️

Cancer

Tumour cells on a chip show how they invade and respond to drugs

🧬

Patient cells

Stem cells from a patient can carry that person's genetic disease into the chip

A chip can model a disease as well as healthy tissue.

UNIT 17 STUDY COMPLETE

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Ready for the Fab Challenge?

You've met the main organ chips, the layouts they use, and the questions each one answers.