Abstract
Cell culture is an important and necessary process in drug discovery, cancer research, as well as stem cell study. Most cells are currently cultured using two-dimensional (2D) methods but new and improved methods that implement three-dimensional (3D) cell culturing techniques suggest compelling evidence that much more advanced experiments can be performed yielding valuable insights. When performing 3D cell culture experiments, the cell environment can be manipulated to mimic that of a cell in vivo and provide more accurate data about cell-to-cell interactions, tumor characteristics, drug discovery, metabolic profiling, stem cell research, and other types of diseases. Scaffold based techniques such as hydrogel-based support, polymeric hard material-based support, hydrophilic glass fiber, and organoids are employed, and each provide their own advantages and applications. Likewise, there are also scaffold free techniques used such as hanging drop microplates, magnetic levitation, and spheroid microplates with ultra-low attachment coating. 3D cell culture has the potential to provide alternative ways to study organ behavior via the use of organoids and is expected to eventually bridge the gap between 2D cell culture and animal models. The present review compares 2D cell culture to 3D cell culture, provides the details surrounding the different 3D culture techniques, as well as focuses on the present and future applications of 3D cell culture.
Highlights
Two dimensional (2D) cell culture has been the method used to culture cells since the early 1900s (Ferreira et al, 2018), which plays a vital role in research but has many limitations due to 2D models inaccurately representing tissue cells in vitro (Costa et al, 2016)
Synthetic hydrogels are typically made with synthetic polymers made from polyethylene glycol (PEG), polylactic acid (PLA), or poly(vinyl acetate) (PVA) (Dhaliwal, 2012)
SeedEZ discovered by Lena Biosciences is such an inert and transparent glass microfiber scaffold (Figure 2), which allows for various cell types to be seeded at once in order to create different 3D layers within the cell
Summary
Two dimensional (2D) cell culture has been the method used to culture cells since the early 1900s (Ferreira et al, 2018), which plays a vital role in research but has many limitations due to 2D models inaccurately representing tissue cells in vitro (Costa et al, 2016). 3D culture offers several methods of cell culture depending on the type of experiment being performed Scaffold based techniques such as hydrogel-based support, polymeric hard material-based support, hydrophilic glass fiber, and organoids provide an array of advantages. Compared with other 3D cell culture systems, such as 3D Matrigel culture drops, SeedEZ promotes cell-cell interaction and formation of 3D cell network more efficiently By taking these advantages, SeedEZ represents the most effective tools for cancer research and drug testing (Lang et al, 2019). Researchers are able to grow tumor models using organoids through the use of patient derived tissue cancer cells This allows scientists to model the patient’s tumor in order to test treatments on a patient-to-patient basis. Magnetic levitation allows both basic and advanced environments to be replicated, making it a very versatile
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