Cell culture

Cell Guidance Systems is pleased to announce the availability of primary human hepatocytes for use in in-vitro toxicology assays.

Before a drug is deemed suitable for patients, it must undergo a rigorous testing process and cost-effectiveness analyses. The testing begins in a lab where researchers investigate the process behind a disease at either cellular or molecular level. In the past, this has been completed using 2D cell culture, which is convenient and accessible, but more often, cells are grown in a complex 3D environment.

Organoids and spheroids are the most commonly used approaches for establishing 3D cell cultures. This article will explore the similarities (and differences) between how they are made and what they do.

Animal derived materials remain an important part of biological research. Progress is being made to replace these with better defined non-animal alternatives. This is a huge task. The goal of developing alternatives to materials such as FBS and Matrigel® remains elusive.

According to the RSPCA, more than 100 million live animals, mostly mice, rats, fish and birds, are used in scientific research procedures each year. Although this is modest compared to the huge number of animals killed globally for food, which includes 50 billion chickens and 1.4 billion pigs, there is a strong drive to reduce the number of animals used in research. As well as experimentation on live animals, animal-derived materials (ADMs) are used to maintain cells cultured in-vitro.

Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting is an emerging technology that enables the fabrication of complex, biomimetic tissue constructs for applications in tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and drug testing. Hydrogels, which are hydrophilic polymeric networks capable of absorbing large amounts of water, have emerged as promising bioinks for 3D bioprinting due to their biocompatibility, tunable mechanical properties, and ability to support cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation.

By 2050, the world population is expected to exceed nine billion, putting future global food security at risk. Animal-based food production contributes significantly to climate change. Although plant-based foods have a much lower environmental footprint than their counterparts, they do not satisfy everyone’s tastes or nutritional requirements. In this instance, switching towards an insect-based diet might just be the sustainable option we need to address food insecurities while also being greener on the planet.

Major differences in cell behaviour develop when cells are cultured on petri dishes or hard material surfaces instead of their native biological environment. Biomaterials, particularly hydrogels, which can bridge this gap, are a key area of cell research.

Living cellular structures that can respond to their environment are being developed. These structures seek to revolutionise the methods of traditional material technology and offer ways to address real-life challenges in medicine, biotechnology and sustainability.

Chromosomal alterations underlie numerous medical conditions, with clinical detection of chromosome changes being a key feature of genetic diagnostics. Chromosomal alterations are also important in research, affecting the behaviour of cells and impacting the interpretation of data generated with them.