Bioengineered tissue-level physiology

Tissue chips or microphysiological systems are bioengineered microstructures using biomaterials and human cells, promising to recapitulate patient-specific tissue-level morphology and physiology in vitro. Compared to 2D cell culture, tissue chips enable well-controlled cellular niches, including matrix stiffness, biochemical cues, flow dynamics, cellular interactions, and mechanical stretching, which play central roles in tissue regeneration and disease pathogenesis. Compared to small animal models, tissue chips are cost-effective and facilitate rapid prototyping, real-time imaging, and decoupling of multiple factors, representing a viable alternative for disease modeling and even clinical trials. We aim to exploit proteinaceous microstructures for constructing essential tissue interfaces and integrate them into a microfluidic chip for modeling bacterial infection in the airway and host defense in the alveoli.