Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Ecological Niches

Ecological Niches

All organisms have a position within an ecosystem. The complete set of living and nonliving factors—including food resources, climate, and terrain—that define the position of a given organism are collectively referred to as the organism’s ecological niche.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Matrix Stiffness Directs Stemness Signatures in Breast Cancer.

Advanced healthcare materials·2026

Same author

Matrix type influences embedded patient-derived osteosarcoma organoid invasion and response to treatment.

Frontiers in pharmacology·2026

Same author

Hierarchical stabilization of bioactive hydrogels by multi-arm peptide-polymer supramolecular staples.

Journal of materials chemistry. B·2026

Same author

How microrobots should be translated: A clinical and value-centered readiness framework.

Bioengineering & translational medicine·2026

Same author

Primer PICKR: literature-mined scoring platform for robust RT-qPCR primers.

Nature communications·2026

Same author

Poly-L-lysine integration in PVA hydrogels enables stable, bioactive matrices for motor neuron differentiation and neural network formation.

Journal of materials chemistry. B·2026

Same journal

Controlled encapsulation and droplet size prediction in two-step microfluidic double emulsions.

Lab on a chip·2026

Same journal

A particulate blood-mimicking fluid with physiological biconcave geometry for microscale hemorheology.

Lab on a chip·2026

Same journal

Multicellular sensor arrays fabricated by capillary stamping for pattern-based odor discrimination.

Lab on a chip·2026

Same journal

A real-time microfluidic surveillance system for multiplex detection of heavy metal contamination in wastewater.

Lab on a chip·2026

Same journal

Vision-guided parallel manipulation of cells with optoelectronic tweezers.

Lab on a chip·2026

Same journal

Review of nanofluidic mass transport systems: engineering through physicochemical fields and interfacial properties.

Lab on a chip·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 16, 2026

Fabrication of Custom Agarose Wells for Cell Seeding and Tissue Ring Self-assembly Using 3D-Printed Molds

Fabrication of Custom Agarose Wells for Cell Seeding and Tissue Ring Self-assembly Using 3D-Printed Molds

Published on: April 2, 2018

Building multiple microenvironmental niches using a customizable 3D printed well insert.

Laura A Milton^1,2,3, Surasak Kasetsirikul^1,2, Jorge A Catano^1,2

¹Faculty of Engineering, School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, 4000, Australia.

|October 6, 2025

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

A novel 3D-printed Localized Microenvironment Well-Insert (LM-Well) platform enables precise patterning of multiple hydrogel niches. This versatile tool supports diverse biomaterials and cell types for advanced in vitro models and co-culture studies.

More Related Videos

Microgel-Extracellular Matrix Composite Support for the Embedded 3D Printing of Human Neural Constructs

Microgel-Extracellular Matrix Composite Support for the Embedded 3D Printing of Human Neural Constructs

Published on: May 5, 2023

An Innovative 3D-Printed Insert Designed to Enable Straightforward 2D and 3D Cell Cultures

An Innovative 3D-Printed Insert Designed to Enable Straightforward 2D and 3D Cell Cultures

Published on: January 6, 2023

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jan 16, 2026

Fabrication of Custom Agarose Wells for Cell Seeding and Tissue Ring Self-assembly Using 3D-Printed Molds

Fabrication of Custom Agarose Wells for Cell Seeding and Tissue Ring Self-assembly Using 3D-Printed Molds

Published on: April 2, 2018

Microgel-Extracellular Matrix Composite Support for the Embedded 3D Printing of Human Neural Constructs

Microgel-Extracellular Matrix Composite Support for the Embedded 3D Printing of Human Neural Constructs

Published on: May 5, 2023

An Innovative 3D-Printed Insert Designed to Enable Straightforward 2D and 3D Cell Cultures

An Innovative 3D-Printed Insert Designed to Enable Straightforward 2D and 3D Cell Cultures

Published on: January 6, 2023

Area of Science:

Biomaterials Science
Tissue Engineering
Microfluidics

Background:

Advanced in vitro models require customized cellular microenvironments to replicate physiological crosstalk.
Hydrogels mimic tissue niches but need integration with patterning platforms like bioprinting or microfluidics.
Existing platforms face limitations in material compatibility (bioprinting) or multiplexing (microfluidics).

Purpose of the Study:

To develop a versatile platform for patterning multiple hydrogel niches with tunable properties.
To address the limitations of current bioprinting and microfluidic patterning techniques.
To create a customizable and accessible system for advanced in vitro co-culture models.

Main Methods:

Development of the Localized Microenvironment Well-Insert (LM-Well), a 3D-printed device.
Utilizing capillary force-driven patterning for diverse hydrogel formulations (natural, photo-crosslinkable, synthetic click).
Integration of functional materials (e.g., oxygen-scavenging microcapsules) and micro-architectural supports (e.g., micropillars).

Main Results:

The LM-Well successfully patterned multiple hydrogel niches with customizable physicochemical properties.
Demonstrated control over local oxygen levels, modulating tumor growth and hepatic zonation.
Established a liver-tumor co-culture model, recapitulating altered drug efficacy due to cell-cell interactions.

Conclusions:

The LM-Well is a versatile and accessible platform for creating physiologically relevant co-cultures.
It facilitates the use of diverse biomaterials and customizable niches for advanced in vitro modeling.
This technology advances the development of complex tissue models for drug discovery and biological studies.