Islet-Organ-On-A-Chip Model Development Service

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Background Islet-on-a-chip Applications Why Choose Us? FAQs Products

Creative Biolabs' Islet-On-A-Chip Model Development Service offers a comprehensive solution for researchers seeking to advance their studies of pancreatic islet function, diabetes pathogenesis, and therapeutic interventions. We provide clients with tailored microfluidic platforms that mimic the native islet microenvironment, enabling more accurate and predictive in vitro studies.

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Background

Pancreatic islets, uniformly dispersed within the pancreas, regulate glycemic control through coordinated hormone release. These micro-organs are isolated via collagenase digestion for diabetes research and therapeutic transplants. Microanatomical studies show human islets (20–80 μm) and murine counterparts (35–200 μm) comprise four endocrine cell populations: α, β, δ, and pancreatic polypeptide (PP) cells.

α cells produce glucagon, elevating blood glucose via hepatic gluconeogenesis activation.
β cells dominate murine islets (70–90%) and human islets (40–60%), synthesizing insulin to promote hepatic/muscular glucose uptake.
δ cells release somatostatin, suppressing insulin/glucagon secretion.
Pancreatic polypeptide cells secrete pancreatic polypeptide, modulating exocrine/gastrointestinal activity.

This cellular synergy enables precise hormonal regulation via vascular networks. Consequently, islets exhibit dense vascularization, permitting rapid detection of and response to glycemic fluctuations.

Fig 1. (A) Schematic representation of the pancreas and the pancreatic islet. (B) Glucose uptake and insulin release from a β-cell. (OA Literature) Fig 1. (A) The pancreas and the pancreatic islet. (B) Glucose uptake and insulin release from a β-cell.^1,3

Islet-on-a-chip

Conventional assessment methods for islet viability and functional capacity suffer from constrained physiomimetic validity. Current protocols demand significant animal cohorts to evaluate glucose-responsive insulin secretion in pancreatic tissue, alongside low/high glucose exposure of batch-cultured specimens to calculate stimulation indices. These technically demanding workflows involve prolonged timelines and depend on post-hoc insulin quantification via ELISA/RIA—precluding real-time spatiotemporal analysis. Moreover, insufficient detection sensitivity necessitates pooled islet batches rather than single-islet resolution, as current systems cannot reliably monitor individual secretory profiles.

Procuring viable pancreatic microtissues from biological sources remains challenging, necessitating experimental designs that minimize tissue consumption. These endocrine clusters exhibit dynamic hormone oscillations post-stimulation, mandating analytical methods with the second-scale temporal resolution to resolve secretory kinetics. Microengineered organ-on-chip (OOC) platforms address these gaps by recapitulating in vivo physiology through precision-engineered architectures. Recently redefined as microscale biomimetic systems emulating human organ functions, OOC devices are revolutionizing the study of complex pathologies like diabetes. These platforms typically integrate polymeric substrates with microfluidic networks to culture living tissue constructs, enabling the simulation of organ-specific physiological interactions.

Published Data

Investigation of the Therapeutic Potential of New Antidiabetic Compounds Using Islet-on-a-Chip Microfluidic Model

Fig 2. Schematic of Islet-on-a-chip system. (OA Literature) Fig 2. Islet-on-a-chip system.^2,3

This investigation employed an organotypic microfluidic platform to assess PAHSA isomers (5-/9-PAHSA) as regulators of proliferative capacity, survival metrics, glucose-responsive hormone dynamics, and secretory kinetics. The novel lipid species palmitic acid-hydroxystearic acid (PAHSA), recently identified as having therapeutic potential, was evaluated under physiomimetic flow conditions achieved through chip-based perfusion. Researchers streamlined pseudo-islet maturation timelines while enabling concurrent culture maintenance, live imaging, and high-throughput screening via integrated device architecture. Results demonstrated that 5-PAHSA significantly enhanced pseudo-islet proliferative capacity, cellular viability indices, and glucose-stimulated insulin output under dynamic culture parameters – reinforcing its candidacy as a β-cell modulating therapeutic agent.

Applications

Islet-On-A-Chip technology has a wide range of applications in diabetes research and drug development, including:

Disease Modeling: Islet-On-A-Chip platforms can be used to create more accurate in vitro models of diabetes, allowing researchers to study the pathogenesis of the disease and identify novel therapeutic targets.
Drug Discovery: These platforms can be used for high-throughput screening of potential antidiabetic compounds, enabling the identification of promising drug candidates with improved efficacy and reduced toxicity.
Personalized Medicine: Islet-On-A-Chip technology can be used to study the effects of specific drugs on individual patient-derived islets, paving the way for personalized diabetes therapies.
Cell Replacement Therapy: These platforms can be used to optimize islet transplantation protocols and develop novel strategies for islet protection and engraftment.
Basic Research: Islet-on-a-chip devices are valuable tools for fundamental studies of islet biology, enabling researchers to investigate islet cell-cell interactions, hormone secretion dynamics, and the effects of various physiological and pathological stimuli.

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Why Choose Us?

Creative Biolabs serves as a preferred collaborator for scientific teams utilizing Islet-on-Chip (IOAC) platforms. Our multidisciplinary proficiency in microfluidic systems, cellular biology, and metabolic disease investigations allows the development of tailored experimental frameworks addressing complex research challenges. We integrate advanced technological innovations with rigorous quality assurance protocols and client-focused service delivery.

FAQs

Here are some frequently asked questions about Creative Biolabs' Islet-on-a-chip Model Development Service:

Q: How does Creative Biolabs' Islet-On-A-Chip service compare to traditional islet culture methods?

A: Creative Biolabs' Islet-On-A-Chip service offers significant advantages over traditional static culture methods by providing a dynamic and controlled microenvironment that more accurately mimics the native islet niche. This leads to improved islet viability, function, and responsiveness, resulting in more physiologically relevant data.

Q: Can Creative Biolabs customize the Islet-On-A-Chip platform to my specific research needs?

A: Affirmative. Creative Biolabs engineers bespoke Islet-on-Chip (IOAC) configurations aligned with specialized research objectives. Through collaborative methodology, we co-develop platform specifications through iterative optimization of cellular models, microenvironmental parameters, and endpoint metrics within your experimental framework.

Q: Is Creative Biolabs' Islet-On-A-Chip technology compatible with my cell type of interest?

A: Creative Biolabs' Islet-on-Chip platform is engineered for biospecimen versatility, accommodating primary islet clusters, immortalized islet lines, and SC-islet constructs. Our team tailors microenvironmental parameters and culture protocols to ensure functional compatibility with your selected cellular models.

Recommended Products

For researchers facing challenges in initiating microfluidic cellular investigations de novo, Creative Biolabs' engineered cell-culture systems deliver integrated solutions that streamline workflow bottlenecks.

CBLcell™ Organ-on-chip Cell Culture Platform

Creative Biolabs provides you with a full range of microfluidic organ-on-a-chip and cell culture instruments and services to facilitate the start of your research to the greatest extent. If you are overwhelmed by starting a microfluidic cell experiment from scratch, Creative Biolabs' customized platform for cell culture can perfectly solve your problem.

Our chips offer the freedom to choose the cell seeding channels and perfusion conditions, enabling various cell culture modes.

CAT	Product Name	Application	Figure
MFMM1-GJS1	BE-Flow Standard	2D/3D cell culture and mechanical shear stress studies by means of microfluidics.
MFMM1-GJS3	BE-Transflow Standard	Construction of ALI interface and for organ chips such as lung, skin, intestine, cornea, etc.
MFMM1-GJS4	BE-Doubleflow Standard	Best choice for studying circulating particles, cell interactions, and simple organ-on-chip system construction.
MFMM-0723-JS1	Synvivo-SMN1 Microvascular Network Chips	Flow research Shear stress effect Vascular disease research Drug delivery Drug discovery Cellular behavior Cell-cell/particle interaction
MFCH-009	Synvivo-Idealized Co-Culture Network Chips (IMN2 Radial)	3D Blood Brain Barrier Model 3D Inflammation Model 3D Cancer Model 3D Toxicology Model
MFCH-010	Synvivo-Idealized Co-Culture Network Chips (IMN2 TEER)	3D Blood Brain Barrier Model 3D Inflammation Model 3D Cancer Model 3D Toxicology Model
MFCH-011	Synvivo-Idealized Co-Culture Network Chips (IMN2 Linear)	3D Blood Brain Barrier Model 3D Inflammation Model 3D Cancer Model 3D Toxicology Model 3D Lung Model 3D ALI Chip
MFCH-012	Synvivo-SMN2 microvascular network Co-Culture Chips	3D Inflammation Model 3D Cancer Model 3D Toxicology Model 3D Lung Model

For more information about Creative Biolabs products and services, please contact us.

References

Rodríguez-Comas, Júlia, and Javier Ramón-Azcón. "Islet-on-a-chip for the study of pancreatic β-cell function." In vitro models 1.1 (2022): 41-57.
Sokolowska, Patrycja, et al. "Investigation of the therapeutic potential of new antidiabetic compounds using islet-on-a-chip microfluidic model." Biosensors 12.5 (2022): 302.
Distributed under Open Access license CC BY 4.0, without modification.

For Research Use Only. Not For Clinical Use.