AccScience Publishing / IJB / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/IJB025270262
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RESEARCH ARTICLE

3D-bioprinted placenta-on-a-chip platform for modeling the human maternal–fetal barrier

Yazhi Sun1† ,  Henry H. Hwang1† ,  Chandana Tekkatte2,3† ,  Scott A. Lindsay2,3 ,  Anelizze Castro-Martinez2,3 ,  Claire Yu1 ,  Isabella Saldana2,3 ,  Xuanyi Ma1 ,  Omar Farah3,4 ,  Mana M. Parast3,4 ,  Louise C. Laurent2,3* ,  Shaochen Chen1*
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1 Department of Chemical and Nano Engineering, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States of America
2 Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States of America
3 Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States of America
4 Department of Pathology, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States of America
†These authors contributed equally to this work.
IJB, 025270262 https://doi.org/10.36922/IJB025270262
Received: 2 July 2025 | Accepted: 28 July 2025 | Published online: 28 July 2025
© 2025 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
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Abstract

The placenta plays a vital role in pregnancy by regulating selective exchange between the maternal and fetal circulations and producing essential hormonal signals. In this study, we present an in vitro placenta-on-a-chip platform that leverages 3D bioprinting to replicate the structural and functional features of the human placental barrier. This microengineered system utilizes digital light processing-based 3D bioprinting to fabricate the microfluidic mold and construct 3D encapsulated cell cultures within a biomimetic hydrogel scaffold, enabling co-culture of three human cell types, including two derived from primary placental tissue. The system demonstrated excellent cell viability, high metabolic activity, placental hormone secretion, and native-like selective barrier transport properties. This system offers a versatile platform for experimental perturbations to explore mechanisms of normal placental function and identify contributors to placental dysfunction.

Graphical abstract
Keywords
Bioprinting
Microfluidics
Microphysiological system
Organ-on-a-chip
Placenta
Trophoblast stem cells
Funding
This work was supported in part by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to S.C., L.L., and M.P. (R21HD100132) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) to S.C. (2135720). The UCSD School of Medicine Microscopy Core facility was supported by the NIH grant P30 NS047101.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no competing interests.
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International Journal of Bioprinting, Electronic ISSN: 2424-8002 Print ISSN: 2424-7723, Published by AccScience Publishing
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