Entitled ‘Short Guide to 3D Cell Culture’, the booklet considers a range of procedures for cell culture.
Traditional monolayer cell culture on plastic dishes or in flasks rarely recreates the conditions cells experience in vivo.
Over the past 20 years, many researchers have actively sought ways to culture cells in 3D.
The conclusion reached by many researchers is that there is no silver bullet, each cell type needs a different environment and many biological questions may need specific methods to study them.
The Amsbio guide provides background information on what 3D cell culture is, and why researchers are increasingly switching to it.
Many types of 3D cell culture matrices for spheroid, organotypic and directional cultures are described in addition to natural hydrogels, scaffold-free cell culturing, artificial scaffolds and synthetic biomimetics.
An up-to-date summary details how 3D cell culture techniques are helping to advance cellular research in applications including viability and cytotoxicity, invasion and motility, cell signalling and communication as well as tissue regeneration and stem cell growth and differentiation.
A table is included to guide researchers towards the optimal 3D cell culture matrix for different applications.