Advances in Microfluidic Technologies in Organoid Research.

Organoids have emerged as major technological breakthroughs and novel organ models that have revolutionized biomedical research by recapitulating the key structural and functional complexities of their in vivo counterparts. The combination of organoid systems and microfluidic technologies has opened new frontiers in organoid engineering, and offers great opportunities to address the current challenges of existing organoid systems and broaden their biomedical applications. In this review, we describe the key features of the existing organoids, including their origins, development, design principles, and limitations. We then highlight the recent progress in integrating organoids into microfluidic systems, involving microarrays for high-throughput organoid manipulation, microreactors for organoid hydrogel scaffold fabrication, and microfluidic chips for functional organoid culture. We also discuss the opportunities in the nascent combination of organoids and microfluidics that lie ahead to accelerate research in organ development, disease studies, drug screening, and regenerative medicine. Finally, we envision the challenges and future perspectives in the development of advanced microfluidic platforms and modified technologies for building organoids with higher fidelity and standardization. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.