02351nas a2200301   4500000000100000000000100001008004100002260001100043653002800054653002400082653002300106100002100129700001900150700001700169700002000186700001700206700002600223700001900249700002100268700002100289700001500310245017900325856004600504300000900550490000700559520146900566022001402035       2023                            d  c2023/110ahuman placental barrier10aMicrofluidic device10aPlacenta-on-a-Chip1 aFemke A. Elzinga1 aBehrad Khalili1 aDaan J. Touw1 aJelmer R. Prins1 aPeter Olinga1 aHenri G. D. Leuvenink1 aHarry van Goor1 aSanne J. Gordijn1 aAnika Nagelkerke1 aPaola Mian00aPlacenta-on-a-Chip as an In Vitro Approach to Evaluate the Physiological and Structural Characteristics of the Human Placental Barrier upon Drug Exposure: A Systematic Review  uhttps://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/12/13/4315  a43150 v123 aQuantification of fetal drug exposure remains challenging since sampling from the placenta or fetus during pregnancy is too invasive. Currently existing in vivo (e.g., cord blood sampling) and ex vivo (e.g., placenta perfusion) models have inherent limitations. A placenta-on-a-chip model is a promising alternative. A systematic search was performed in PubMed on 2 February 2023, and Embase on 14 March 2023. Studies were included where placenta-on-a-chip was used to investigate placental physiology, placenta in different obstetric conditions, and/or fetal exposure to maternally administered drugs. Seventeen articles were included that used comparable approaches but different microfluidic devices and/or different cultured maternal and fetal cell lines. Of these studies, four quantified glucose transfer, four studies evaluated drug transport, three studies investigated nanoparticles, one study analyzed bacterial infection and five studies investigated preeclampsia. It was demonstrated that placenta-on-a-chip has the capacity to recapitulate the key characteristics of the human placental barrier. We aimed to identify knowledge gaps and provide the first steps towards an overview of current protocols for developing a placenta-on-a-chip, that facilitates comparison of results from different studies. Although models differ, they offer a promising approach for in vitro human placental and fetal drug studies under healthy and pathological conditions.  a2077-0383