Abstract

Bioprinting of 3D Extracellular Matrix Models For Cancer Research

MoonSun Jung, Senior Research Officer, Children’s Cancer Institute Australia

Cancer is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. However, the exact molecular mechanisms underlying the tumorigenesis and metastasis are still poorly understood. Conventional 2-dimentional (2D) in vitro models are widely used for cancer research. These monolayer models however cannot accurately recapitulate the characteristics of native tumor microenvironment, including the cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions that cancer cells experience in vivo. 3D bioprinting provides an exciting opportunity to create in vitro tumor microenvironment with living cells using extracellular matrix (ECM) materials. However, it is still rare that 3D bioprinted models use biomaterials with high biocompatibility and tunability of the ECM-like properties. In collaboration with Inventia Life Science, we have developed 3D matrix models by printing small droplets of cells and matrix components using their drop-on-demand 3D bioprinter. With this technology, we are currently investigating the diverse aspects of cancer behaviours in response to environmental changes such as stiffness and biological molecules and identifying optimal biomimic ECM conditions for different cancer types.