Organ-on-a-Chip and Microfluidic Plant Cell Culture Systems: The Next Frontier for Controlled Secondary Metabolite Production and Real-Time Metabolomic Monitoring
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Plant secondary metabolites remain indispensable for pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, and cosmeceuticals, yet conventional plant culture systems are increasingly limited by inconsistent yields, poor scalability, and inadequate capacity for real-time process monitoring. Microfluidic technologies and organ-on-a-chip (OoC) platforms, originally developed for mammalian biology, are now emerging as powerful tools to overcome these constraints. These systems enable laminar flow, precise gradient generation, single-cell resolution, and biosensor integration, providing unprecedented control over the cellular microenvironment and supporting non-destructive, real-time metabolomic monitoring. While recent reviews have surveyed plant microfluidics broadly covering developmental biology, single-cell phenotyping, and root-microbe interactions, this review provides, to our knowledge, the first synthesis focused specifically on organ-on-a-chip approaches for plant secondary metabolite biosynthesis and real-time metabolomic monitoring. Advances in device fabrication, including PDMS, paper-based, hydrogel, and thermoplastic materials, surface engineering, gradient-based elicitation strategies, and integration of optical, electrochemical, and mass spectrometric detection systems have also been critically examined. Special emphasis is placed on root-on-a-chip, shoot meristem, protoplast, callus, and 3D organoid platforms for studying cell wall mechanics, vacuolar dynamics, cytoskeletal responses, and signalling cascades. However, challenges remain in long-term culture stability and scalability; nonetheless, these technologies offer a roadmap toward programmable 'plant biosynthetic factories' to produce high-value natural products.
Source: Plants
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,258
OpenAlex ID: W7169194285