Recent advances in an organ-on-a-chip: biomarker analysis and applications

In pharmaceutical research and development, improving the effectiveness of preclinical predictions is significant, thus in vitro and in vivo experimental models are needed to investigate human drug responses in organisms. As a microengineered model, an organ-on-a-chip (OoC) could provide reliable predictions of drug efficacy and safety by mimicking the complex biological functions of normal cellular interactions. It presents a novel platform with the advantages of high throughputs, low cost, and high efficiency for drug development. Here, we provide an outlook on the recent fundamental development of OoC studies and discuss the prospects of their applications in relation to drug discovery. In particular, we highlight a set of recently developed strategies that facilitate high-throughput analysis of biomarkers and drug metabolites on an OoC, including ELISA, PCR, LC-MS and lab-on-a-chip. A brief summary is also presented along with the prospects of this field in the future.