Since the establishment of the first immortalized cell line (HeLa - 1951), most of the cell and molecular biology knowledgement accumulated is based on monolayer or bi-dimensional (2D) cell culture systems. However, this “flat biology” does not bring similar responses to the living organism, where organs and tissues are structured in 3D organizations. Even though tissues and organs have been cultivated in vitro since the late 19th century, the isolation of cells and their subsequent cultivation in scaffold-free 3D structures gained popularity in the early 2000s. These approaches can produce structures described as spheroids, cell sheets, organoids and assembloids.
The 3D cellular structures can be associated with scaffolds (biomaterials/hydrogels) and applied for 3D bioprinting, forming bioinks. Also, they can be applied in microfluidic devices for physiological microscale analyses or scale-up in bioreactors for large scale biofabrication.
These methods provide a more realistic in vitro response to biological events that occur in vivo. Thus, it has driven the development of tools for the study of cellular niches (stem and differentiated cells), structured tissues for modelling diseases, and tumor microenvironment. These serve as platforms for high-throughput analysis of drugs and toxic agents and as alternative methods to animal use in research.
Our main goal is to update the 3D cell culture approaches of all types of stem cells (embryonic, fetal, adult, iPSCs, cancer) as well as their applications on regenerative medicine and 21st Century toxicology testing.
Potential areas to include are: Spheroid, Cell Sheet, Organoids, Assembloids, Biofabrication, 3D Bioprinting, Bioinks, Bioreactors, Microfluidic (organ-on-a-chip), Extracellular vesicles production, Precision Medicine, High-throughput platforms andAlternative methods for animal experimentation.
Since the establishment of the first immortalized cell line (HeLa - 1951), most of the cell and molecular biology knowledgement accumulated is based on monolayer or bi-dimensional (2D) cell culture systems. However, this “flat biology” does not bring similar responses to the living organism, where organs and tissues are structured in 3D organizations. Even though tissues and organs have been cultivated in vitro since the late 19th century, the isolation of cells and their subsequent cultivation in scaffold-free 3D structures gained popularity in the early 2000s. These approaches can produce structures described as spheroids, cell sheets, organoids and assembloids.
The 3D cellular structures can be associated with scaffolds (biomaterials/hydrogels) and applied for 3D bioprinting, forming bioinks. Also, they can be applied in microfluidic devices for physiological microscale analyses or scale-up in bioreactors for large scale biofabrication.
These methods provide a more realistic in vitro response to biological events that occur in vivo. Thus, it has driven the development of tools for the study of cellular niches (stem and differentiated cells), structured tissues for modelling diseases, and tumor microenvironment. These serve as platforms for high-throughput analysis of drugs and toxic agents and as alternative methods to animal use in research.
Our main goal is to update the 3D cell culture approaches of all types of stem cells (embryonic, fetal, adult, iPSCs, cancer) as well as their applications on regenerative medicine and 21st Century toxicology testing.
Potential areas to include are: Spheroid, Cell Sheet, Organoids, Assembloids, Biofabrication, 3D Bioprinting, Bioinks, Bioreactors, Microfluidic (organ-on-a-chip), Extracellular vesicles production, Precision Medicine, High-throughput platforms andAlternative methods for animal experimentation.