3D Microtissues for Injectable Regenerative Therapy and High-throughput Drug Screening

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Regenerative Medicine
• Drug Discovery

Background:

• Traditional 2D cell cultures lack the complexity of in vivo environments.
• Advancements in 3D cell culture are crucial for more accurate disease modeling and therapeutic development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a protocol for fabricating versatile 3D microtissues using microfabrication and cryogelation.
• To demonstrate the applications of these 3D microtissues in regenerative therapy and drug screening.

Main Methods:

• Integration of microfabrication with cryogelation technology to produce macroporous microscale cryogels (microcryogels).
• Fabrication of size and shape-controllable microcryogels on an array chip.
• Loading microcryogels with various cell types to form 3D microtissues.
• Harvesting microcryogels for injectable regenerative therapy or on-chip assembly for drug screening.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated the successful fabrication of versatile 3D microtissues.
• Showcased the injectability and cell-protecting properties of the 3D microtissues for minimally invasive cell therapy, leading to enhanced cell survival and therapeutic effects in a mouse limb ischemia model.
• Enabled high-throughput drug screening using 3D microtissue arrays in a standard 384-multi-well format.

Conclusions:

• The developed microcryogel-based 3D microtissues offer a versatile platform for both regenerative medicine and drug discovery.
• The technology facilitates injectable cell delivery for enhanced therapeutic outcomes.
• The platform supports high-throughput drug screening with standard laboratory equipment.