"Polymer processing for organ-on-a-chip devices'

基于微流体的组织芯片设备在生物医学应用方面产生了重大的研究兴趣，在药物开发中具有巨大的应用潜力。该领域的最新进展已经看到这些设备从基本的2D细胞培养发展到推动微流体3D设备的设计和制造。在体内组织中观察到的3D微环境对细胞形态、极性和行为有很大的帮助，这意味着对于一个真正准确的模型，它必须以一种能够概括原生组织的动态和机械环境的方式设计。与动物试验相比，这些设备有可能提供更敏感和准确的分析，动物试验中动物和人类生理和免疫系统的根本差异导致结果难以翻译。芯片上器官技术的使用不仅有助于加快药物设计和批准的过程，而且符合动物试验的3r原则——减少、改进和取代动物试验，为标准方案提供更合乎道德的解决方案。考虑到这些原因，这个项目应该集中在一个非常有意义和重要的医学科学领域，需要解决。

Microfluidic-based tissue-on-a-chip devices have generated significant research interest for biomedical applications, with a great potential for uses within pharmaceutical development. Recent advances within the area have seen these devices evolve from basic 2D cell cultures, into a push towards the design and fabrication of microfluidic 3D devices. The 3D microenvironment seen in in vivo tissue assists greatly in a cells morphology, polarity, and behaviour, meaning that for a truly accurate model, it must be designed in a way that can recapitulate this dynamic and mechanical environment of the native tissue.These devices have the potential to provide a more sensitive and accurate assay in comparison to animal testing, where fundamental differences within animal and human physiology and immune systems result in a difficult translation of results. Not only would the use of organ-on-a-chip technologies see to assist with speeding up the process of pharmaceutical design and approval, it aligns with the principles of the 3Rs of animal testing - reducing, refining and replacing animal testing, providing a more ethical solution to standard protocols. With these reasons considered, this project to be focused on an extremely meaningful and important area of medical science that needs to be addressed.