Figure 1
From: Medium throughput breathing human primary cell alveolus-on-chip model
Concept of the newly developed lung-on-chip. Top: in-vivo, the lung expands following the contraction of the diaphragm. The breathing motions are transferred from the organ-level to the individual alveoli. The alveolar barrier consists of a tight alveolar epithelial cell layer – made of type I (AT I) and of type II (AT II) alveolar epithelial cells – and of endothelial cells (EC) between which the basal membrane (BM) is sandwiched. Bottom: Schematic cross-sections of the lung-on-chip with two operation modes: (i) Breathing and (ii) Medium exchange modes. The breathing motions of the alveolar barrier are induced by a bio-inspired microdiaphragm. When a cyclic vacuum is applied in the microcavity, the microdiaphragm is deflected. Two valves located on each side of the basal compartment can be opened to exchange the cell culture medium. Hydrostatic and surface tension forces transport the flow. After the exchange the valves are closed and the supernatant can be sampled from the outlet. Right: Photograph of the lung-on-chip with 6 independent alveolar barrier systems filed with cell culture medium.
