Bioengineering ethics for the age of microphysiological systems
The development of microphysiological systems (MPS) is pushing ethical standards in biomedical research to a breaking point. This article argues that only a perspective drawing from engineering ethics will be able to address the new challenges raised by organoids and organs-on-chips. Extending progr...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2025.1497060/full |
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| author | Maxence Gaillard Maxence Gaillard |
| author_facet | Maxence Gaillard Maxence Gaillard |
| author_sort | Maxence Gaillard |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The development of microphysiological systems (MPS) is pushing ethical standards in biomedical research to a breaking point. This article argues that only a perspective drawing from engineering ethics will be able to address the new challenges raised by organoids and organs-on-chips. Extending progressively the scope of moral questioning, we discuss successively the following areas: i) individual consent: when cell lines are generated and human biomaterial is circulated and incorporated into biotechnologies whose life cycle will far exceed the scope envisioned by donors and manufacturers, the classic notion of informed consent becomes almost obsolete, or at least needs to be revisited. ii) Collective deliberation: MPSs raise many expectations for animal replacement and the advancement of precision and regenerative medicine. The management of these prospects by different stakeholders, and for everyone, is itself an ethical challenge at the interface of science and society. iii) Consideration of novel entities: some complex microphysiological systems may be endowed with a moral status in the near future, and this will have an impact on how researchers treat them and work with them. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-142faf1498714fb4965cebd60bbe3cf4 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2296-4185 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology |
| spelling | doaj-art-142faf1498714fb4965cebd60bbe3cf42025-08-20T02:50:48ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology2296-41852025-03-011310.3389/fbioe.2025.14970601497060Bioengineering ethics for the age of microphysiological systemsMaxence Gaillard0Maxence Gaillard1Centre for Medical Ethics, Department of Health and Society, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, NorwayInstitut Supérieur de Philosophie, UCLouvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, BelgiumThe development of microphysiological systems (MPS) is pushing ethical standards in biomedical research to a breaking point. This article argues that only a perspective drawing from engineering ethics will be able to address the new challenges raised by organoids and organs-on-chips. Extending progressively the scope of moral questioning, we discuss successively the following areas: i) individual consent: when cell lines are generated and human biomaterial is circulated and incorporated into biotechnologies whose life cycle will far exceed the scope envisioned by donors and manufacturers, the classic notion of informed consent becomes almost obsolete, or at least needs to be revisited. ii) Collective deliberation: MPSs raise many expectations for animal replacement and the advancement of precision and regenerative medicine. The management of these prospects by different stakeholders, and for everyone, is itself an ethical challenge at the interface of science and society. iii) Consideration of novel entities: some complex microphysiological systems may be endowed with a moral status in the near future, and this will have an impact on how researchers treat them and work with them.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2025.1497060/fullinformed consentmoral statusprecision medicinebiobankingethics-by-design |
| spellingShingle | Maxence Gaillard Maxence Gaillard Bioengineering ethics for the age of microphysiological systems Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology informed consent moral status precision medicine biobanking ethics-by-design |
| title | Bioengineering ethics for the age of microphysiological systems |
| title_full | Bioengineering ethics for the age of microphysiological systems |
| title_fullStr | Bioengineering ethics for the age of microphysiological systems |
| title_full_unstemmed | Bioengineering ethics for the age of microphysiological systems |
| title_short | Bioengineering ethics for the age of microphysiological systems |
| title_sort | bioengineering ethics for the age of microphysiological systems |
| topic | informed consent moral status precision medicine biobanking ethics-by-design |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2025.1497060/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT maxencegaillard bioengineeringethicsfortheageofmicrophysiologicalsystems AT maxencegaillard bioengineeringethicsfortheageofmicrophysiologicalsystems |