Cancer poses a great health threat to both developed and developing countries, and anti-cancer drugs are of important interest for improved clinical outcomes. Although tumor-on-a-chip technologies offer a feasible approach to screening drug toxicity, their capability to mimic the native tumor microenvironment (TME) is still limited. For better mimicry of the TME, we developed a biomimetic three-dimensional (3D) liver tumor-on-a-chip with the integration of essential components derived from decellularized liver matrix (DLM) with gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) in a microfluidics-based 3D dynamic cell culture system. The biomimetic liver tumor-on-a-chip based on the integration of DLM components with GelMA, as opposed to GelMA only, had an increased capability to maintain cell viability and to enhance hepatocyte functions under flow conditions. The improved performance of the DLM–GelMA-based tumor-on-a-chip may be attributed to the provision of biochemical factors (e.g., growth factors), the preservation of scaffold proteins, and the reestablishment of biophysical cues (e.g., stiffness and shear stress) for better recapitulation of the 3D liver TME. Furthermore, this DLM–GelMA-based tumor-on-a-chip exhibited linear dose-dependent drug responses to the toxicity of acetaminophen and sorafenib. Taken together, our study demonstrates that the DLM–GelMA-based biomimetic liver tumor-on-a-chip better mimics the in vivo TME and holds great promise for a breadth of pathological and pharmacological studies.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) has become the primary cause of global deaths and inflicts an enormous healthcare burden on both developed and developing countries. Frequent monitoring of CVD-associated risk factors such as the level of lipids (e.g., triglyceride (TG) and total cholesterol (TC)) and lipoproteins (e.g., low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL)) can effectively help prevent disease progression and improve clinical outcomes. However, measurement of these risk factors is generally integrated into an automated analyzer, which is prohibitively expensive and highly instrument-dependent for routine testing in primary care settings. As such, a variety of rapid, simple and portable nanomaterial-based biosensors have been developed for measuring the level of lipids (TG and TC) and lipoproteins (LDL and HDL) towards the management of CVD at the point-of-care (POC). In this review, we first summarize traditional methods for measurement of lipids and lipoproteins, and then present the latest advances in developing nanomaterial-based biosensors that can potentially monitor the risk factors of CVD at the POC.

Respiratory viral infections threaten human life and inflict an enormous healthcare burden worldwide. Frequent monitoring of viral antibodies and viral load can effectively help to control the spread of the virus and make timely interventions. However, current methods for detecting viral load require dedicated personnel and are time-consuming. Additionally, COVID-19 detection is generally relied on an automated PCR analyzer, which is highly instrument-dependent and expensive. As such, emerging technologies in the development of respiratory viral load assays for point-of-care (POC) testing are urgently needed for viral screening. Recent advances in loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), biosensors, nanotechnology-based paper strips and microfluidics offer new strategies to develop a rapid, low-cost, and user-friendly respiratory viral monitoring platform. In this review, we summarized the traditional methods in respiratory virus detection and present the state-of-art technologies in the monitoring of respiratory virus at POC.

The brain and gut are sensory organs responsible for sensing, transmitting, integrating, and responding to signals from the internal and external environment. In‐depth analysis of brain–gut axis interactions is important for human health and disease prevention. Current research on the brain–gut axis primarily relies on animal models. However, animal models make it difficult to study disease mechanisms due to inherent species differences, and the reproducibility of experiments is poor because of individual animal variations, which leads to a significant limitation of real‐time sensory responses. Organ‐on‐a‐chip platforms provide an innovative approach for disease treatment and personalized research by replicating brain and gut ecosystems in vitro. This enables a precise understanding of their biological functions and physiological responses. In this article, we examine the history and most current developments in brain, gut, and gut–brain chips. The importance of these systems for understanding pathophysiology and developing new drugs is emphasized throughout the review. This article also addresses future directions and present issues with the advancement and application of gut–brain‐on‐a‐chip technologies.

Cancer has become the most prevalent cause of deaths, placing a huge economic and healthcare burden worldwide. Nanoparticles, as a key component of nanomedicine, provide alternative options for promoting the efficacy of cancer therapy. Current conventional cancer models have limitations in predicting the effects of various cancer treatments. To overcome these limitations, biomimetic and novel "tumor-on-a-chip" platforms have emerged with other innovative biomedical engineering methods that enable the evaluation of nanoparticle-based cancer therapy. In this review, we first describe cancer models for evaluation of nanoparticle-based cancer therapy techniques, and then present the latest advances in "tumor-on-a-chip" platforms that can potentially facilitate clinical translation of nanoparticle-based cancer therapies.