# Organ-on-a-Chip and Lab-on-a-Chip Technologies in Cardiac Tissue Engineering

## TL;DR

Microfluidic technologies like Organ-on-a-Chip and Lab-on-a-Chip are improving cardiac research by creating realistic heart tissue models for drug testing and disease study.

## Contribution

This review highlights the use of OoC and LoC platforms in recreating complex cardiac environments and advancing precision medicine.

## Key findings

- Heart-on-a-Chip systems use iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes to mimic myocardial tissue structure and function.
- Lab-on-a-Chip platforms enable high-throughput screening and efficient pharmacological testing.
- Multi-organ microfluidic systems can simulate heart-liver, heart-kidney, and heart-tumor interactions.

## Abstract

Microfluidic technologies have ushered in a new era in cardiac tissue engineering, providing more predictive in vitro models compared to two-dimensional culture studies. This review examines Organ-on-a-Chip (OoC) and Lab-on-a-Chip (LoC) platforms, with a specific focus on cardiovascular applications. OoCs, and particularly Heart-on-a-Chip systems, have advanced biomimicry to a higher level by recreating complex 3D cardiac microenvironments in vitro and dynamic fluid flow. These platforms employ induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs), engineered extracellular matrices, and dynamic mechanical and electrical stimulation to reproduce the structural and functional features of myocardial tissue. LoCs have introduced miniaturization and integration of analytical functions into compact devices, enabling high-throughput screening, advanced diagnostics, and efficient pharmacological testing. They enable the investigation of pathophysiological mechanisms, the assessment of cardiotoxicity, and the development of precision medicine approaches. Furthermore, progress in multi-organ systems expands the potential of microfluidic technologies to simulate heart–liver, heart–kidney, and heart–tumor interactions, providing more comprehensive predictive models. However, challenges remain, including the immaturity of iPSC-derived cells, the lack of standardization, and scalability issues. In general, microfluidic platforms represent strategic tools for advancing cardiovascular research in translation and accelerating therapeutic innovation within precision medicine.