Cell suspensions, cell cultures, and tissue slices--important metabolic in vitro systems

In vitro subcellular and cellular systems have important and irreplaceable roles in the metabolic investigations that precede the development of new potential drugs. Of these model systems, tissue slices are probably the nearest to in vivo conditions. From the experimental and complexity points of view, perfused organs lie midway between tissue slices and whole organism. Preparation and working with liver slices is quick and easy, and, excess material can be cryopreserved and stored untill the next experiment. Slices can be prepared from a wide variety of organs and it is possible to co-incubate them. Another important feature is the possibility of interspecies comparison of slices. Different experiments can be run both in the short-term as well as long-term incubations. Each in vitro system has an important place for example, in the development of new medicaments. It is therefore important to compare and supplement experimental results from different in vitro systems when extrapolating to in vivo situations is done.