The incipient use of microphysiological systems (MPSs) in the drug regulatory pathway is based on equivalent or superior predictive value in the evaluation of drug efficacy, safety and toxicology, compared with other novel alternative methods (NAMs) or animal studies. Current MPS practice is not deploying available physiological culture media solutions. Will the clinical translational reliability of MPSs be potentially compromised by the use of hyper-nutritional media?
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The authors report grant support from ARC IC170100016.
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A.G.S. and B.G. are co-inventors of the RPM22 and multiplexed biosensor systems discussed in this Comment.
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Nature Reviews Bioengineering thanks Jeff Stuart, who co-reviewed with Ricardo Alva, Saverio Tardito, and Martin Fischer for their contribution to the peer review of this work.
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Stewart, A.G., Gunatilaka, A. & Gao, B. Should culture media for microphysiological systems be nutritionally physiological?. Nat Rev Bioeng 3, 357–358 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44222-025-00290-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44222-025-00290-w
