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Updated: Feb 10, 2026

Quantification of Cellular Densities and Antigenic Properties using Magnetic Levitation
Published on: May 17, 2021
Biofabrication of in situ Self Assembled 3D Cell Cultures in a Weightlessness Environment Generated using Magnetic
Muge Anil-Inevi1, Sena Yaman1, Ahu Arslan Yildiz1
1Department of Bioengineering, Izmir Institute of Technology, Urla, Izmir, Turkey.
Abstract:
Magnetic levitation though negative magnetophoresis is a novel technology to simulate weightlessness and has recently found applications in material and biological sciences. Yet little is known about the ability of the magnetic levitation system to facilitate biofabrication of in situ three dimensional (3D) cellular structures. Here, we optimized a magnetic levitation though negative magnetophoresis protocol appropriate for long term levitated cell culture and developed an in situ 3D cellular assembly model with controlled cluster size and cellular pattern under simulated weightlessness. The developed strategy outlines a potential basis for the study of weightlessness on 3D living structures and with the opportunity for real-time imaging that is not possible with current ground-based simulated weightlessness techniques. The low-cost technique presented here may offer a wide range of biomedical applications in several research fields, including mechanobiology, drug discovery and developmental biology.
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