Organs-on-Chips: Expand the Boundaries of In Vitro Testing
Humans began culturing animal cells and tissues as early as the late 19th century, when Wilhelm Roux first showed that chick embryos could be cultured in saline solution for a few days. Eventually, human cells were cultured, and techniques were developed to allow in vitro cell culture to recapitulate the body’s cell-level processes outside the body. Two-dimensional (2D) culture has become routine, enabling the discovery and manufacture of life-saving vaccines and therapies. Three-dimensional (3D) cell culture approaches are being developed that attempt to recreate the architecture of the body more realistically, incorporating multiple cell types and tissues along with 3D substrates.
In this article, Josef Atzler, vice president of technology innovation at Molecular Devices, weighs in on what's new in OoC and organoid technology, along with 3D biology's expanding role in advancing scientific discovery.