Abstract
Organ-on-a-chip (OOCs) devices are 3D in vitro models, capable of recapitulating in vivo-like physiological and pathological mechanical and biochemical cues by mimicking the compartmentalization of multiple tissues, dynamic flow conditions, biochemical, and mechanical stimuli in a closer way than classical culture methods. Additionally, they can provide rapid and accurate screening of novel pharmaceutical agents by promoting a reduction of financial and time costs during later stages of the drug development timeline. These models have been recently applied to investigate musculoskeletal diseases progression, recreating the whole tissues by mimicking cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix (ECM) interactions.
However, despite the advances in this field such as the increased complexity in terms of cellular components and biofabrication technologies, in most of these OOCs model there is a lack of ECM complexity in terms of composition and biomechanical properties compared to the traditional tissue engineering or bioprinting approaches. Thus, to bring a definitive and reliable transition toward disease-relevant OOC models, there is the need to better mimic the microenvironment of the human tissues, specifically the ECM.