The cellular microenvironment is influenced explicitly by the extracellular matrix (ECM), the main tissue support biomaterial, as a decisive factor for tissue growth patterns. The recent emergence of hepatic microphysiological systems (MPS) provide the basic physiological emulation of the human liver for drug screening. However, engineering microfluidic devices with standardized surface coatings of ECM may improve MPS-based organ-specific emulation for improved drug screening. The influence of surface coatings of different ECM types on tissue development needs to be optimized. Additionally, an intensity-based image processing tool and transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) sensor may assist in the analysis of tissue formation capacity under the influence of different ECM types. The current study highlights the role of ECM coatings for improved tissue formation, implying the additional role of image processing and TEER sensors. We studied hepatic tissue formation under the influence of multiple concentrations of Matrigel, collagen, fibronectin, and poly-L-lysine. Based on experimental data, a mathematical model was developed, and ECM concentrations were validated for better tissue development. TEER sensor and image processing data were used to evaluate the development of a hepatic MPS for human liver physiology modeling. Image analysis data for tissue formation was further strengthened by metabolic quantification of albumin, urea, and cytochrome P450. Standardized ECM type for MPS may improve clinical relevance for modeling hepatic tissue microenvironment, and image processing possibly enhance the tissue analysis of the MPS.

Medicinal plants are known for their diverse use in the traditional medicine of the Himalayan region of Pakistan. The present study is designed to investigate the anticancer and antimicrobial activities of Prunus cornuta and Quercus semicarpifolia. The anticancer activity was performed using cancerous human cell lines (HepG2, Caco-2, A549, MDA-MB-231, and NCI-H1437 carcinoma cells), while the antimicrobial activity was conducted with the agar-well diffusion method. Furthermore, toxicity studies were performed on alveolar and renal primary epithelial cells. Initially, different extracts were prepared by maceration techniques using n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, butanol, and methanol. The preliminary phytochemical screening showed the presence of secondary metabolites such as alkaloids, tannins, saponins, flavonoids, glycosides, and quinones. The chloroform extract of P. cornuta (PCC) exhibited significant inhibitory activity against Acinetobacter baumannii (16 mm) and Salmonella enterica (14.5 mm). The A. baumannii and S. enterica strains appeared highly susceptible to n-hexane extract of P. cornuta (PCN) with an antibacterial effect of 15 mm and 15.5 mm, respectively. The results also showed that the methanolic extracts of Quercus semecarpifolia (QSM) exhibited considerable antibacterial inhibitory activity in A. baumannii (18 mm), Escherichia coli (15 mm). The QSN and QSE extracts also showed good inhibition in A. baumannii with a 16 mm zone of inhibition. The Rhizopus oryzae strain has shown remarkable mycelial inhibition by PCM and QSN with 16 mm and 21 mm inhibition, respectively. Furthermore, the extracts of P. cornuta and Q. semicarpifolia exhibited prominent growth inhibition of breast (MDA-MB-231) and lung (A549) carcinoma cells with 19–30% and 22–39% cell viabilities, respectively. The gut cell line survival was also significantly inhibited by Q. semicarpifolia (24–34%). The findings of this study provide valuable information for the future development of new antibacterial and anticancer medicinal agents from P. cornuta and Q. semicarpifolia extracts.