Alveolar & Deep-Lung Tissue Models (Static and Perfused)
AT1/AT2 alveolar epithelium with surfactant secretion, available as a static insert tissue or as a perfused microphysiological system on an instrument.
| Category | Ready-to-Use 3D Tissue Models |
|---|---|
| Unit | One insert or kit of inserts (static route); one Multi-chip Barrier plate run on a customer-owned instrument (perfused route) |
| Lead time | 2-6 weeks for finished static tissue against the production calendar; the perfused route is instrument-gated and begins with a capital purchase, then 14 days of differentiation per run |
| Pricing | Indicative range held |
| Provenance | Partner manufactured |
| Data current | 2026-09-03 |
Description
The alveolus is where inhaled drug is absorbed and where most inhalation toxicology questions actually live, and it splits into two commercial routes that are almost never compared side by side. The static route is a ready-made tissue on an insert: Epithelix AlveolAir is an air-liquid interface model containing type 1 pneumocytes, type 2 pneumocytes and endothelial cells, produced since 2023 under GIVIMP-certified production, with apical secretion of surfactant proteins by the AT2 population and TEER as part of release QC. The critical and easily missed limitation is longevity. Where Epithelix states MucilAir holds a stable homeostatic state for several months and up to a year, it states AlveolAir holds one for two weeks, with the AT1/AT2 population ratio conserved over that period. A study designed on the upper-airway shelf life will not survive contact with the alveolar product. Only healthy donors are stated as available for AlveolAir. The perfused route is CN Bio, another supplier heavily cited across our coverage and previously absent from this catalogue. CN Bio's lung-on-a-chip models are microphysiological systems cultured in PhysioMimix Multi-chip Barrier plates on a PhysioMimix Core instrument: the alveolar model seeds primary human small airway epithelial and endothelial cells on either side of an insert scaffold at air-liquid interface over 14 days to form alveolar-sac architectures with AT1 and AT2 maintained at appropriate populations, and the bronchial model does the same with primary bronchial epithelial and endothelial cells to give a pseudostratified mucociliary barrier. CN Bio states 14 days is optimal for differentiation and that tissues have been cultured to 28 days with barrier integrity, phenotype and function stable. The plates are PDMS-free with an open-well format allowing liquid or aerosolised dosing and 0.3 to 1 mL of sampling volume per well. The trade is explicit: the static tissue arrives finished and needs no instrument, the perfused model needs a six-figure instrument and you seed it yourself.
Why this is hard to buy today
The same supplier states a shelf life of several months up to a year for its upper-airway model and two weeks for its alveolar model, on adjacent product pages, and nothing on either page flags the difference. A group that plans a repeat-dose alveolar study on the longevity it read for MucilAir loses the tissue mid-experiment, and the perfused alternative that would give it a 28-day window cannot be evaluated on cost because no plate or instrument price is published anywhere.
Price evidence
Neither route publishes a list price. Epithelix publishes no price for AlveolAir and directs orders to an email quotation. CN Bio publishes no price for the PhysioMimix Core instrument, for the Multi-chip Barrier-12 (MPS-T12) plates, or for the lung models. The instrument figures below are DERIVED from named US federal contract awards published on USAspending.gov and are UPPER BOUNDS rather than list prices, because the obligated amount may include shipping, installation, warranty or unstated line items, and federal buyers may hold negotiated schedule pricing unavailable to other customers. (1) PhysioMimix OOC multi-organ standard system: $212,610.00 as a single obligation, DERIVED from award PIID HT942524P0124, US Department of Defense to CN Bio Innovations Limited, action date 2024-08-22. (2) PhysioMimix OOC multi-organ standard and full system: $460,510.95, DERIVED from award PIID HT942525P0071, US Department of Defense to CN Bio Innovations Limited, 2025-07-10. (3) PhysioMimix organ-chip equipment system plus four twelve-month option years of preventative maintenance: $89,934.40, DERIVED from award PIID 75F40120P00532, US Food and Drug Administration to CN Bio Innovations Limited, 2020-09-03, that record is a bundle and cannot be split into instrument and maintenance. None of the three award descriptions states a plate quantity, so no per-plate or per-chip figure is derivable from any of them and none is offered. For scale on the consumable side of a comparable perfused platform, a genuinely derived per-plate figure exists elsewhere in this catalogue: MIMETAS OrganoPlate Graft part 6401-400-B at $1,163.00 per plate, DERIVED from award PIID 75N95021P00070 ($29,075 for a stated quantity of 25) and replicated exactly by PIID 75N95020P00433 ($23,260 for a stated quantity of 20). That is a different vendor and a different product and is offered only as an order-of-magnitude reference.
These are supplier list prices we located and recorded, not a quotation from Wetware World. Your price depends on quantity, specification and freight, and is only binding once issued in writing.
What you must specify
A quote cannot be produced without these. Anything you leave open, a supplier will assume, usually expensively.
| # | Parameter |
|---|---|
| 01 | Route: finished static tissue versus perfused microphysiological system on an instrument you must already own |
| 02 | Required cell populations (AT1, AT2, endothelial, macrophage co-culture) |
| 03 | Whether apical surfactant secretion must be demonstrated |
| 04 | Usable culture window required after delivery, checked against the two-week AlveolAir stability statement |
| 05 | Dosing mode (liquid, aerosol, repeat dose) and the sampling volume that mode needs |
| 06 | Number of tissues or chips and the replicate structure |
| 07 | TEER acceptance value at release |
| 08 | Donor health status, noting only healthy donors are stated for the static alveolar model |
| 09 | Whether the buyer wants the tissue, the plate, or the study run as a service |
Quality documentation
Typically available with this item. What actually ships is confirmed on the quotation, per supplier.
- Certificate of analysis per batch with donor information and QC results (static route)
- Barrier function by TEER, stated as part of release QC
- AT1/AT2 population ratio confirmation over the stated stability period
- Surfactant protein secretion evidence per supplier characterisation data
- Sterility and pathogen screening per supplier protocol
Candidate suppliers
Organisations we have identified as capable. Listing does not imply a partnership, an endorsement, or that they have agreed to quote.
| Organisation | Basis for inclusion |
|---|---|
| Epithelix (AlveolAir) | Fetched live 2026-09-01. Alveolar ALI model containing type 1 and type 2 pneumocytes and endothelial cells; produced since 2023; GIVIMP certified since 2023; stable homeostatic state stated as two weeks with AT1/AT2 ratio conserved; apical surfactant protein secretion by AT2; TEER part of release QC; healthy donors stated as available. Quotation and contact form only, no price. |
| CN Bio Innovations | Fetched live 2026-09-01. Alveolar MPS from primary human small airway epithelial and endothelial cells on either side of an insert scaffold at ALI over 14 days with alveolar-sac architecture and AT1/AT2 maintained; bronchial MPS giving a pseudostratified mucociliary barrier; 14 days optimal, cultured to 28 days with barrier integrity, phenotype and function stable; both require a PhysioMimix Core System plus Barrier plates. No price on any product page. |
| CN Bio Innovations (consumables) | Fetched live 2026-09-01. Range confirmed as MPS-LC12 and MPS-LC48 Liver plates, MPS-T12 Barrier plate for gut and lung, and MPS-TL6 dual-organ plate. Stated as PDMS-free to reduce non-specific binding, SBS standard footprint, open-well format, fluidically isolated chips, adjustable flow, sampling volumes of 0.3 up to 1 mL per well depending on plate type. No price. |
| MatTek (Sartorius) | EpiAlveolar sits in the same static insert class and provides a second quote channel. No public price. |
Sources
- https://www.epithelix.com/products/alveolair
- https://cn-bio.com/organ-models/lung-on-a-chip/
- https://cn-bio.com/consumables/multi-chip-plates/
- https://www.usaspending.gov/award/CONT_AWD_HT942524P0124_9700_-NONE-_-NONE-
- https://www.usaspending.gov/award/CONT_AWD_HT942525P0071_9700_-NONE-_-NONE-
- https://www.usaspending.gov/award/CONT_AWD_75F40120P00532_7524_-NONE-_-NONE-
doc WW-TM-22855 · rev 2026-09-03 · research use only · prices indicative and not binding until quoted in writing