Modeling bone mineralization on-chip with granular matrices

On 31 October 2026, our paper entitled "Engineering an Enzymatically Active Granular Matrix for On-Chip Modeling of Bone-Like Mineralization" was published in Small. Led by Farhad Sanaei, the study introduces granular hydrogels as perfusable three-dimensional matrices for organ-on-chip systems. Inspired by bottom-up synthetic biology, we conjugated alkaline phosphatase (ALP), the key enzyme of bone formation, to poly(ethylene glycol) microgels, creating acellular building blocks that recapitulate a key function of osteoblasts. Assembled on-chip, these microgels drove mineral deposition within 24–48 h, maturing into a calcium-deficient, apatite-like phase characteristic of early bone mineral, with a spatial distribution that depended on perfusion. We see this modular platform as a complementary foundation for mechanistic models of tissue mineralization. Congratulations to our lab member Farhad Sanaei for leading this work, and to all the co-authors for their invaluable contributions.

Read the open access article: doi.org/10.1002/smll.76336