In Vitro Magnetic Techniques for Investigating Cancer Progression

Abstract

Worldwide, there are currently around 18.1 million new cancer cases and 9.6 million cancer deaths yearly. Although cancer diagnosis and treatment has improved greatly in the past several decades, a complete understanding of the complex interactions between cancer cells and the tumor microenvironment during primary tumor growth and metastatic expansion is still lacking. Several aspects of the metastatic cascade require in vitro investigation. This is because in vitro work allows for a reduced number of variables and an ability to gather real-time data of cell responses to precise stimuli, decoupling the complex environment surrounding in vivo experimentation. Breakthroughs in our understanding of cancer biology and mechanics through in vitro assays can lead to better-designed ex vivo precision medicine platforms and clinical therapeutics. Multiple techniques have been developed to imitate cancer cells in their primary or metastatic environments, such as spheroids in suspension, microfluidic systems, 3D bioprinting, and hydrogel embedding. Recently, magnetic-based in vitro platforms have been developed to improve the reproducibility of the cell geometries created, precisely move magnetized cell aggregates or fabricated scaffolding, and incorporate static or dynamic loading into the cell or its culture environment. Here, we will review the latest magnetic techniques utilized in these in vitro environments to improve our understanding of cancer cell interactions throughout the various stages of the metastatic cascade.

Hydrogels for the treatment of oral and maxillofacial diseases: current research, challenges, and future directions

“…Moreover, researchers can also control the distribution and geometric shape of MCS by implanting magnetic beads or magnetic nanoparticles 251 Compared with the MCS treated with free paclitaxel, the MCS cultured from osteosarcoma and breast adenocarcinoma showed a more significant reduction in size after treatment with paclitaxelloaded polymer nanoparticles (NPs) 253 .…”

“…250 Moreover, researchers can also control the distribution and geometric shape of the MCS by implanting magnetic beads or magnetic nanoparticles. 251 Generally, researchers can ensure that the tumor structures of the same cell types cultured under the same external conditions are basically similar in morphology, structure, microenvironment and cell physiology.…”

Biomedical Applications of Magnetic Levitation

“…[9,43] MagLev has applications in measuring the density of polymers and characterizing polymer composition, [4,9] and analysis of crystal polymorphs, [3] biopolymers, [9] chemicals, biochemical particles, [1] nutrition content of food products (e.g., dairy), [44] and proteins. [37,[45][46][47][48] In the specific context of biological assay, MagLev demonstrated excellent potential for cell analysis, [49,50] quantification of protein binding degree [5] and measurement of antigen-antibodies binding in quantitative immunoassays, [51] disease diagnosis [38,52] (e.g., cancer cells, [40,[53][54][55][56] sepsis, [57] and hepatitis C [58] ), and blood analysis. [59] Moreover, MagLev is actively playing a role in the density measurement of illicit drugs and powders, as well as forensic samples, [14,60,61] 3D cell culturing, [62,63] and tissue engineering.…”