A review of complex cell culture stressing the importance of fluid flow and illustrated by organ on a chip liver models.

The translation of new technology from development into widespread commercial use is a complex and time-consuming process that requires significant investment. This review looks at some important market needs for more complex models, the technical difficulties that must be overcome, particularly those connected with introducing fluid flow using microfluidics, and also illustrates the economic benefits of more accurate models for drug toxicity. Beyond the strong ethical arguments for replacing the use of animals in drug safety testing and medical research, the author believes that financial benefits of adopting the new technology are becoming clear and will drive the adoption by industry.

Towards More Predictive, Physiological and Animal-free Models: Advances in Cell and Tissue Culture 2020 Conference Proceedings.

Experimental systems that faithfully replicate human physiology at cellular, tissue and organ level are crucial to the development of efficacious and safe therapies with high success rates and low cost. The development of such systems is challenging and requires skills, expertise and inputs from a diverse range of experts, such as biologists, physicists, engineers, clinicians and regulatory bodies. Kirkstall Limited, a biotechnology company based in York, UK, organised the annual conference, (ACTC), which brought together people having a variety of expertise and interests, to present and discuss the latest developments in the field of cell and tissue culture and modelling.