Membrane-free high-throughput gut-on-chip models for phenotypic evaluation of intestinal epithelial responses

Traditional in vitro models often fail to replicate the complex microenvironment and physiological conditions found in the human gut. To address these limitations, we used intestinal cells and the microfluidic OrganoPlate® platform to generate up to 64 perfused membrane-free intestinal epithelial tubules on a single plate. We exposed these tubules to several pro-inflammatory triggers and observed distinct effects, including changes of barrier integrity, cytokine release, and marker expression. Our platform is scalable and allows the simultaneous evaluation of multiple samples, enabling rapid screening of compounds such as drugs or microbial metabolites. These advancements pave the way for a better understanding of intestinal physiology and pathology, ultimately contributing to the development of novel therapies and personalized treatments for intestinal diseases.