Biomaterial-based microfluidics for cell culture and analysis

To make microfluidics more functional and sensitive for biological applications, biomaterials for chip organization and function are key factors that can be controlled. Biomaterials used in microfluidics were found to be more diverse, complicated, and integrated, which were gradually replaced with polymers. Previously, microfluidics involved chemical and biological microanalysis, including biomolecular analysis. We believe that biomaterial-based microplatforms will be used for cell culture and analysis in vitro in future, thus revolutionizing biology and medicine research and applications. In this review, we first describe commonly used biomaterials in microfluidic construction. Then, biomaterials for two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) cell culture on chip, as well as organ-on-chip mimicking, are elaborated. Finally, based on cell observation and analysis, biomaterials with higher sensitivity are selected.