Advancing Organ-on-Chip Models With a Sacrificial Granular Hydrogel Strategy for Enhanced Permeability and Biomimicry.

ABSTRACT: Infectious diseases such as malaria, leishmaniasis, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) involve pathogens with complex life cycles that span multiple organs, including the bone marrow (BM), a niche for latent or cryptic infections. Studying these hidden stages in patients presents significant technical and ethical challenges, underscoring the need for advanced in vitro models such as organ-on-chip (OoC) platforms. While cell-laden hydrogels can replicate tissue-like 3D-microenvironments, their small mesh size may restrict pathogen migration and cell-pathogen interactions, both critical for establishing infection on-chip. To overcome this limitation, this work develops a "reversed" granular hydrogel strategy that creates interconnected microporosity in hydrogels incorporated into organ-o

SUBMITTER: Caires HR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12716228 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature