Biomaterial-Guided Organoid Engineering for Modeling Development and Diseases

Organoids are miniature models of organs to recapitulate spatiotemporal cellular organization and tissue functionality. The production of organoids has revolutionized the field of developmental biology, providing the possibility to study and guide human development and diseases in a dish. More recently, novel bio-material-based culture systems demonstrated the feasibility and versatility to engineer and produce the organoids in a consistent and reproducible manner. By engineering proper tissue micro-environment, functional organoids have been able to exhibit spatial-distinct tissue patterning and morphogenesis. This review will focus on enabling technologies in the field of organoid engineering, including chemical-defined hydrogels, micro-fabrication techniques and organoid-on-chip platforms, which facilitate the assembly of in vitro modeling of development and diseases.