TECHNICAL NOTES & APPLICATIONS FOR LABORATORY WORK

1/ INTRODUCTION

The main flaw of traditional cell culture methods is the use of two-dimensional (2D) monolayers of cells, which are not a good representation of in vivo tissue environments. Today, there are various options for growing cells in 3D, including round-bottom surfaces, hydrogels or scaffold-based methods. However, for 3D cell culture to be assimilated at a faster rate by laboratories, there is a need for tools that enable 3D cell culture to be performed using routine 2D cell culture workflows. E.g. Tasks such as media exchanges and imaging cells can be challenging when working with 3D cell culture because cells are neither attached to plastic or grown on a flat surface. Magnetic 3D cell culture is the solution to perform 3D cell culture as easily as in 2D.

2/ GREINER BIO-ONE MAGNETIC 3D BIOPRINTING TECHNOLOGY

The principle of magnetic 3D bioprinting relies on the magnetization of cells with NanoShuttle™- PL, a biocompatible nanoparticle assembly of gold nanoparticles, ironoxide, and poly-L-lysine (PLL). The NanoShuttle™-PL magnetizes cells by electrostatically attaching to the cellmembranes via PLL. The reproducible formation of a single spheroid per well in an F-bottom plate with cell-repellent surface is induced by the magnetic forces of one magnet below each well within 15 min (Fig. 1). Then, spheroids are generally formed within hours, depending on the cell type. These structurally and biologically representative 3D models formed in vitro are ready to… Download white paper to continue reading