Abstract

Formation, Cultivation and Analysis of 3D Microtissues using a Microfluidic Multicellular Spheroid Array

Peter Ertl, Professor of Lab-on-a-Chip Systems, Vienna University of Technology

A long-standing trend in pharmaceutical development, toxicology and biomedicine has been the establishment of complex in vitro 3D cell cultures whose structures and function resemble human tissues. To meet the growing need to improve the predictive power of toxicological, pharmaceutical and preclinical studies, the multicellular spheroid array builds on the advancement of novel organ-on-a-chip technology that establishes, cultivates and supports a wide variety of multicellular spheroids (3D cell aggregates). This system thus closes an important technological gap, enabling rapid and easy production of spheroids of defined size and cell types.