Harihara, A. | Search bioRxiv

bioRxiv2025

OrganoidChip+: a Microfluidic Platform for Culturing, Staining, Immobilization, and High-Content Imaging of Adult Stem Cell-Derived Organoids

High-content imaging (HCI) and analysis are the keys for advancing our understanding of the science behind organogenesis. To this end, culturing adult stem cell-derived organoids (ASOs) in a platform that also enables live imaging, staining, immobilization, and fast high-resolution imaging is crucial. However, existing platforms only partially satisfy these requirements. In this study, we present the OrganoidChip+, an all-in-one microfluidic device designed to integrate both culturing and HCI of ASOs all within one platform. We previously developed the OrganoidChip as a robust imaging tool. Now, the OrganoidChip+ incorporates several additional features for culturing organoids in addition to fluorescence staining and imaging without the need for sample transfer. The organoids grown within a culture chamber are stained and then transferred to immobilization chambers for blur-free, high-resolution imaging at predetermined locations. We cultured adult stem cell-derived intestinal organoids in the chip for 7 days and tracked growth rates of each organoid using intermittent brightfield images, followed by multiple image-based assays, including viability assay using widefield fluorescence imaging, a redox ratio assay using label-free, two-color, two-photon microscopy, and immunofluorescence assays using confocal microscopy. These assays serve as proof-of-concept to showcase the chips capabilities in HCI of ASOs. Organoids cultured in the chip exhibited superior average growth rates over those in traditional Matrigel dome cultures, off-chip. Viability and redox ratio measurements of on-chip organoids were comparable or slightly better than their off-chip counterparts. Confocal imaging further confirmed that the OrganoidChip+ supports robust organoid culture while enabling detailed, high-resolution analysis. This all-in-one platform holds great potential for advancing ASO-based research, offering a scalable and cost-effective solution for HCI and analysis in organogenesis, drug screening, and disease modeling.

bioengineering↗

bioRxiv2025

Optimizing cardiac organoid culture to enhance maturation, viability, and cardiotoxicity assessments

Development of relevant, human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiac organoids is essential to recapitulate myocardium physiology and functionality for assessment of drug-induced toxicity evaluations. However, the optimal conditions for culturing self-aggregating multicellular cardiac organoids are not well-elucidated, particularly the impact of noncardiomyocytes. In this study, we generated cardiac organoids at varying seeding densities to formulate organoids that meet or exceed the biological diffusion limit. We assessed their morphology, gene expression profiles, beating functionality, viability, and mitochondrial activity over time. Our results show that organoid sizes stabilize by seven days of culture, regardless of seeding density. However, organoids seeded with 20,000 cells retained an optimal cardiac signature that promotes cardiac maturity and minimizes fibrotic tendencies, especially when culturing longer than seven days. While all organoid populations maintained their beating functionalities, those seeded with 80,000 cells exhibited greater cell shedding and increased apoptosis at long term culture. In contrast, minimal apoptosis was observed in organoids seeded with 20,000 cells after seven days. Mitochondrial staining further revealed that organoids seeded with 20,000 cells consistently demonstrated higher metabolic activity. Taken together, organoids seeded with 20,000 cells and cultured for seven days yielded the healthiest morphology, transcriptional signature, and viability, while maintaining robust beating kinetics. Importantly, compared to 2D cultures, these optimized organoids demonstrate improved sensitivity to clinically relevant doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity, enabling more accurate dose-response evaluations that better reflect therapeutic conditions. Impact StatementThis work highlights key tissue engineering considerations for generating self-assembling cardiac organoids suitable for scalable, high-throughput drug screening and discovery. Understanding the effect of seeding density and culture duration on organoid size and, consequently on gene expression, beating functionalities, apoptosis, and metabolic activity, has broader implications for establishing optimal organoid culture conditions. These insights enable the production of large quantities of cardiac organoids capable of modeling drug-induced toxicity effects on a clinically relevant timescale.

bioengineering↗