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• Muscle-Organ-On-A-Chip Model

Creative Biolabs' Muscle-On-A-Chip Model Development Service provides you with customized, in vitro 3D skeletal muscle models that mimic the structural and functional properties of native muscle tissue. This enables more accurate and efficient studies of muscle physiology, disease pathology, and drug responses.

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Background

Muscle tissues constitute one of four fundamental animal tissue categories, with vertebrates exhibiting three distinct myogenic subtypes: striated (skeletal), cardiac, and smooth muscle. Striated muscle systems enable voluntary locomotion through coordinated contractions, characterized by parallel-aligned multinucleated myofibers within organized fascicular arrangements. These biomechanical units incorporate supportive structures including connective tendon interfaces and perimysial sheaths. Integral to musculoskeletal function, striated muscle architecture facilitates force generation via densely packed myotubes organized within three-dimensional ECM scaffolding, optimizing mechanical stress distribution and contractile force transmission.

Fig 1. Depiction of skeletal muscle. Distributed under CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wiki, without modification.

Engineered biological matrices and lab-cultured tissue analogs have been extensively explored across biomedical disciplines. Clinically viable constructs have succeeded in replacing dermal, cartilaginous, and osseous tissues through surgical implantation. A persistent obstacle in volumetric engineered tissues involves diffusion-constrained metabolic support, restricting functional thickness thresholds. Mirroring necrotic cascades in avascular tumors, dense constructs develop hypoxic cores and metabolic starvation without perfusion networks. Native tissues resolve this through hierarchical vascular architectures enabling three-dimensional nutrient/waste exchange—critical for cellular homeostasis and maturation. Thus, vascularizing engineered muscle constructs remains pivotal, achievable via microfluidic-guided neovascularization. Essential design criteria encompass physiologically graded lumen dimensions (micro-to-millimeter scale for hemodynamic fidelity), endothelialized tubular morphogenesis, and manufacturable precision across scalable platforms.

Muscle-on-a-chip

Organ-on-a-chip platforms constitute a transformative innovation in developing organotypic analogues for investigating morphogenetic processes, pathological mechanisms, and drug efficacy screening. These vascularized microarchitectures address constraints inherent in conventional static culture methodologies through active metabolite transport—maintaining homeostatic conditions while enhancing compound bioavailability. Contemporary designs now achieve enhanced physiological relevance by replicating in vivo tissue responses to mechanical and chemical cues through engineered cell-matrix interfaces.

Fig 2. Muscle-on-a-chip technology.^1,3

Skeletal muscle is characterized by syncytial, multinucleated fibers, myogenic tubes, and a highly ordered sarcomeric architecture. This tissue functions as the primary effector for voluntary movement, and crucially, it also executes diverse metabolic processes, including glucose homeostasis and thermoregulation. Aberrations in these biomechanical and metabolic functions are central to the etiology of pathologies such as diabetes, adiposity, and sarcopenia associated with aging or disuse. Multiple research teams have developed advanced techniques for fabricating functional skeletal muscle chips. For instance, individual myotubes have been patterned using flexible template masks. The contractile behavior of these patterned myotubes is individually regulated via localized electrical stimulation with microelectrode arrays. The contractile force produced by myotubes has been quantified utilizing silicon MEMS cantilever devices, UV-cured collagen films, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) films, and PDMS micropillars. Furthermore, the fabrication of 3D muscle structures with neuromuscular junctions has been documented.

Published Data

• Toward Vasculature in Skeletal Muscle-on-a-Chip through Thermo-Responsive Sacrificial Templates

Fig 3. Toward vasculature in skeletal muscle-on-a-chip.^2,3

Innovative vascular integration strategies for engineered tissues hold transformative potential across biomedical disciplines, particularly in advancing physiomimetic skeletal muscle platforms for regenerative medicine and pathophysiological modeling. To overcome current vascularization challenges, micro-engineered fluidic architectures enabling channel networks within polymeric matrices present viable solutions. Conventional approaches—including soft lithography, rapid prototyping, and bioprinting—face constraints such as non-biological substrates, simplified two-dimensional vascular networks, suboptimal fabrication throughput, and restricted patterning fidelity. Our research demonstrates three-dimensional organized microvascular networks within ECM-mimetic scaffolds, achieving spatially controlled myotube maturation. Leveraging thermal-responsive polymeric composites fused with precision micro-molding, we engineered sacrificial wax templates (polyester-paraffin hybrids) for perfusable channel generation. This methodology pioneers advancements in bioactive material design, structural biomimicry, and patient-specific therapeutic development.

Applications

Muscle-On-A-Chip technology has broad applications, including:

• Drug discovery and development: Screening of potential drug candidates for neuromuscular diseases.
• Disease modeling: Creating in vitro models of muscle diseases, such as muscular dystrophies, to study their pathogenesis and identify therapeutic targets.
• Toxicity testing: Evaluating the effects of various compounds on muscle tissue function and viability.
• Basic research: Investigating fundamental aspects of muscle biology, such as muscle development, regeneration, and aging.
• Personalized medicine: Developing patient-specific muscle models to study individual responses to therapies.

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Why Choose Us?

Creative Biolabs' Muscle-On-A-Chip Model Development Service stands out due to our commitment to innovation, quality, and client satisfaction. We combine cutting-edge microfluidic technology with deep expertise in muscle biology to deliver superior results.

• Customized Solutions: We tailor our Muscle-On-A-Chip models to your specific research needs, ensuring optimal performance in your chosen application.
• Advanced Technology: Creative Biolabs utilizes state-of-the-art microfluidic fabrication techniques and advanced cell culture methods to create highly functional and reproducible muscle microtissues.
• Expert Team: Our team comprises experienced scientists with expertise in microfluidics, cell biology, and tissue engineering, guaranteeing high-quality results and expert support throughout your project.
• Rigorous Quality Control: We adhere to strict quality control standards to ensure the reliability and reproducibility of our Muscle-On-A-Chip models.
• Proven Track Record: Creative Biolabs has a history of successful collaborations with leading research institutions and pharmaceutical companies.

FAQs

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.

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

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

References

1. Fernández-Costa, Juan M., et al. "Muscle-on-a-chip devices: a new era for in vitro modeling of muscular dystrophies." Disease Models & Mechanisms 16.6 (2023).
2. Wan, Li, et al. "Toward vasculature in skeletal muscle-on-a-chip through thermo-responsive sacrificial templates." Micromachines 11.10 (2020): 907.
3. Distributed under Open Access license CC BY 4.0, without modification.

For Research Use Only. Not For Clinical Use.