Development of biomimetic system for scale up of cell spheroids - building blocks for cell transplantation

Artificial assembly of mature tissues in vitro is challenging from many viewpoints. Therefore, production of intermediate building blocks - cell spheroids expected to be a viable alternative. The purpose of this research is to develop a biomimetic system for scale up maintenance of spheroids in vitro, and to confirm basic performance of the device. The system consists of a 3D culture unit and a medium perfusion unit. The 3D culture unit is dedicated for spheroid culture without using scaffolds, eliminating concerns about biocompatibility of artificial materials. our culture vessel allows easy disassembly and tissue extraction, as well as the resulting tissue can be formed into an any desirable shape. The spheroids are cultured in a sealed environment and their life are sustained by hollow fiber perfusion fluidics. We confirmed by visual and by microscopic examination that no contamination did occur before and after spheroid inoculation. Moreover, we confirmed growth and fusion between cells when C2C12 spheroids were cultured in this system.