Chip-S1® Stretchable Chip

Organ-on-a-Chip

Emulate, Inc. and SCHOTT MINIFAB formed a strategic manufacturing partnership to accelerate the scaling and commercialization of Emulate’s Organs-on-Chips technology and their Human Emulation System, which is providing researchers with a new standard for predicting how humans may respond to medicines, chemicals, and foods.

The future of medicine is within reach

For more than 20 years, SCHOTT MINIFAB experts in design, development, and manufacturing have developed microfluidic systems aimed at diagnostic and life science applications. Having dedicated years to mastering the intricacies of this space, our toolbox full of proven design solutions enables us to meet the most challenging applications.

From concept to cover story

Our team takes pride in our ability to bring our customers’ technologies to life and we celebrate with them as their innovations take shape and in some instances, become the next big contribution to science and health in a rapidly changing world.

One such innovation, the Chip-S1® Stretchable Chip, recreates the body’s dynamic microenvironment, including tissue-tissue interfaces, media flow, and mechanical forces like flow and stretch. Different cell types can be cultured in Organ-Chips to emulate a wide selection of organs, including the liver, kidney proximal tubule, intestine, lung, and brain. This Organ-Chip can also be used as a platform to study a variety of diseases, providing a real-time window into the inner workings of human biology (Emulate Bio, 2025).

Chip-S1® Stretchable Chip

Emulate Bio, Chip-S1® Stretchable Chip

SCHOTT MINIFAB is where experience and expertise meet innovation in microfluidic solutions.

In 2018, SCHOTT MINIFAB joined Emulate’s collaborative community that was working to further develop and validate the Human Emulation System (see press release). Following development and through to manufacturing to market, the Chip-S1® was featured on the cover of National Geographic Special Issue, 'Future of Medicine' (January, 2019).

"On this chip (pictured, shown actual size) researchers Clive Svendsen and Samuel Sances at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, California micro-engineered spinal cord tissue from a patient with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Motor neurons (white) and a blood vessel (red) derived from the ALS patient's stem cells, form functioning tissue, as revealed in the enlarged image (above). Using a microscope, the scientists can observe neurons firing in real time or take pictures to analyze later. Their aim is to create chips that will be able to predict how different drugs will work for an individual patient."

- Fran Smith, National Geographic
Chip-S1® featured on the cover of National Geographic Special Issue, 'Future of Medicine' (January, 2019)
James Coon, Co-Founder, Emulate
Through this collaboration, we worked with SCHOTT MINIFAB to design and execute innovative approaches to scale the manufacturing of our products, and the expertise the SCHOTT MINIFAB team brought to this project allowed us to progress in the democratization of our products and platform.

How it works

Discover how Chip-S1 enables users to model epithelial-endothelial interfaces with appropriate biomechanical forces such as fluid flow and stretch.

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Staying data-driven

An Organ-Chip is a living, micro-engineered environment that recreates the natural physiology and mechanical forces cells experience within the human body.

Learn more about the technical specifications and detailed information about the Chip-S1® Basic Research Kit.

The human colon plays a critical role in health and gastrointestinal disease, but it remains challenging to study due to the complex cell-cell interactions and dynamic conditions that are critical drivers of colon functionality. Conventional in vitro models cannot recreate this level of complexity, while animal models suffer from species differences that lead to clinical translation issues. The Emulate Colon Intestine-Chip addresses these challenges, as it is the only model that recreates in vivo physiology by incorporating pre-qualified, biopsy-derived primary human organoids and colonic endothelial cells in a dynamic, tissue-specific microenvironment. This model can be applied to study inflammatory response and immune cell recruitment, allowing researchers to better understand disease mechanisms and evaluate drug efficacy.

Learn more about specific information regarding the Colon intestine chip, that utilizes the Chip-S1® technology.


Edward Wilkinson, VP & General Manager, SCHOTT MINIFAB
Edward Wilkinson, VP & General Manager, SCHOTT MINIFAB
We continue to see our customers innovating in the drug discovery space. We are excited to see how microfluidics is accelerating this domain of innovation. The ultimate result is that better therapeutics come to market at a lower cost.

Pioneering the impossible with SCHOTT MINIFAB

Taking a modular design philosophy, we provide ready-to-use design modules that serve as the building blocks to create a comprehensive, cohesive product. This approach ensures rapid deployment and integration, facilitating quicker market entry and operational efficiency.

Yet, the true beauty of our solutions lies in their flexibility — these modules can be tailored and combined in myriad ways to create a product that is precisely aligned with specific requirements.

Learn more about SCHOTT MINIFAB microfluidic solutions.


Dieter Cronauer

Dieter Cronauer