Microfluidic Technology for the Generation of Cell Spheroids and Their Applications

Abstract

A three-dimensional (3D) tissue model has significant advantages over the conventional two-dimensional (2D) model. A 3D model mimics the relevant in-vivo physiological conditions, allowing a cell culture to serve as an effective tool for drug discovery, tissue engineering, and the investigation of disease pathology. The present reviews highlight the recent advances and the development of microfluidics based methods for the generation of cell spheroids. The paper emphasizes on the application of microfluidic technology for tissue engineering including the formation of multicellular spheroids (MCS). Further, the paper discusses the recent technical advances in the integration of microfluidic devices for MCS-based high-throughput drug screening. The review compares the various microfluidic techniques and finally provides a perspective for the future opportunities in this research area.

Paper‐Based Cell Cryopreservation

“…Formation of 3D tumor spheroids has become an attractive pursuit to develop and study anti‐cancer drugs. As a result, various methods, such as pellet culture, liquid overlay, hanging liquid drop, and droplet‐based microfluidics, have been proven to successfully facilitate easy formation of well‐defined spheroids in laboratory settings 32. In our work, however, when we allowed remaining 10–20% of cells (HeLa and MCF‐7) within paper to grow in a culture medium for up to 6 days following the thaw and release, interestingly, they resulted in “grape‐like” spheroid growths 33,34.…”

Impact of cell types and culture methods on the functionality of in vitro liver systems – A review of cell systems for hepatotoxicity assessment

“…Much of the initial work was carried out on characterising the cellular morphology and polarity in conjunction with the formation of bile canaliculi [25,95]. However, more recent work has involved examining intra-cellular interactions and communication [89] along with oxygen concentration and gradients throughout the spheroids [96,97].…”

Microfluidic Advancements in Classical Biotechnology – A Review

“…They may be substantial in only some laboratories for a succession of the embryo by supporting revelation with the supervision of the embryos [112]. Additional to these, some other scaffold-free 3D cell culture methods are illustrated in Figure 3 [113]. Some of these such as the conventional hanging drop culture method has been used for initiating the development of embryonic bodies.…”