Development of Tissue Engineering Scaffolds for Cancer Cell Cultures

Abstract

The cell culture technique is one of the tools used in cellular and molecular biology such as cancer cell culture, regenerative medicine, and drug discovery. In recent years, three-dimensional (3D) cell culture has gained attention in cancer research. Scaffolds are porous structures that are used in 3D cell culture to mimic the 3D architecture of tissues and provide more accurate information about tumor cells, extracellular matrix (ECM), and tumor characteristics. These scaffolds are based on synthetic polymers or ECM components and can promote the signaling pathways, survival, and proliferation of cancer cells. Natural and synthetic polymers, hydrogels and microspheres can be used to make 3D scaffolds. 3D cancer cell culture technology can improve cancer treatment. This review article discusses recent advances in the field of scaffold-based 3D models in cancer tissues.

Keywords

• three-dimensional cell culture
• scaffold
• cancer
• hydrogel
• extracellular matrix
• tissue engineering
• microfluidic systems
• 3d printing
• microspheres
• organoid