There are provided a cell culture substrate that enables efficient spheroid formation for cells and can form spheroids having a uniform size and an arbitrary shape at a high cell viability, a method for producing the cell culture substrate, and a method of producing spheroids in which the cell culture substrate is used and a cell viability inside of the spheroids is excellent. A cell culture substrate includes a substrate and a stimulus-responsive polymer coated on the substrate, wherein the stimulus-responsive polymer is a block copolymer having a water-insoluble block segment and a stimulus-responsive block segment, and the cell culture substrate includes the following two regions (A) and (B): (A) an island-shaped region having cell proliferation properties and stimulus responsiveness and having an area of 0.001 to 5 mm.sup.2; and (B) a region adjacent to the region (A) and having no cell proliferation properties.

Described herein is a beads-free bioprocessor as an automated and cost-effective T cell processing and manufacturing platform. T cells are a core component in CAR T cell therapies for cancer treatment, but are difficult to manufacture to scale in clinically relevant quantities. The 3D bioprocessor provides an alternative device that is scalable, beads-free, easy-to-use, and cost-effective for using CAR T cell therapy in cancer immunotherapy. Besides CAR T cell application, this platform technology has potential for many other applications such as cancer cell isolation.

3D cell cultures and devices for 3D cell culture, and methods of use thereof are provided. In some embodiments, the 3D cell culture comprise pancreatic β cells and can be generated in multi-well plates, allowing for high throughput assays on the cell culture.

Described is a three-dimensional (3D) microenvironment presenting defined biochemical and physical cues that regulate cellular behavior and use of the microenvironment. A composition to form the 3D microenvironment is provided by combining one or more natural or synthetic polymeric materials and substrate proteins recombinantly or chemically functionalized with a variety of bioactive peptides such as extracellular matrix-derived or growth factor-derived peptides. Also described are devices and methods for screening for optimal combinations of the bioactive motifs in order to create an extracellular microenvironment that can regulate specific cellular behavior such as cell growth, proliferation, migration or differentiation.

The presently disclosed subject matter provides an approach to address the needs for microscale control in shaping the spacial geometry and microarchitecture of 3D collagen hydrogels. For example, the disclosed subject matter provides for compositions, methods, and systems employing N-sulfosuccinimidyl-6-(4′-azido-2′-nitro-phenylamino)hexanoate (“sulfo-SANPAH”), to prevent detachment of the hydrogel from the anchoring substrate due to cell-mediated contraction.

Methods for producing therapeutic T cells from umbilical cord blood are provided. Methods for treating immune-related diseases or conditions (e.g. autoimmune diseases, transplant rejection, cancer) using umbilical cord blood derived therapeutic T cells are also provided. Compositions comprising umbilical cord blood derived therapeutic T cells are also provided. Methods for treating diseases and methods for increasing or decreasing available ATP within a proliferating cell, through mitochondrial transfer induction or inhibition are also provided.

Methods of tissue engineering, and more particularly methods and compositions for generating various vascularized 3D tissues, such as 3D vascularized embryoid bodies and organoids are described. Certain embodiments relate to a method of generating functional human tissue, the method comprising embedding an embryoid body or organoid in a tissue construct comprising a first vascular network and a second vascular network, each vascular network comprising one or more interconnected vascular channels; exposing the embryoid body or organoid to one or more biological agents, a biological agent gradient, a pressure, and/or an oxygen tension gradient, thereby inducing angiogenesis of capillary vessels to and/or from the embryoid body or organoid; and vascularizing the embryoid body or organoid, the capillary vessels connecting the first vascular network to the second vascular network, thereby creating a single vascular network and a perfusable tissue structure.

A catalyst support comprising at least 95% silicon carbide, having surface areas of ≤10 m.sup.2/g and pore volumes of ≤1 cc/g. A method of producing a catalyst support, the method including mixing SiC particles of 0.1-20 microns, SiO.sub.2 and carbonaceous materials to form an extrusion, under inert atmospheres, heating the extrusion at temperatures of greater than 1400° C., and removing residual carbon from the heated support under temperatures below 1000° C. A catalyst on a carrier, comprising a carrier support having at least about 95% SiC, with a silver solution impregnated thereon comprising silver oxide, ethylenediamine, oxalic acid, monoethanolamine and cesium hydroxide. A process for oxidation reactions (e.g., for the production of ethylene oxide, or oxidation reactions using propane or methane), or for endothermic reactions (e.g., dehydrogenation of paraffins, of ethyl benzene, or cracking and hydrocracking hydrocarbons).

The present invention provides methods and systems which accommodate 3-dimensional adipocyte expansion to produce, e.g., mature adipocytes and synthetic adipose tissue with cellular properties of mature adult organisms, including cell size and cytoarchitecture, and the use of such methods and systems for, e.g., in vitro drug screening and/or toxicity assays, disease modeling, and therapeutic applications.

A method for three-dimensional reproduction of a biological tissue in the framework of tissue engineering. A substrate is provided and primary cells of a first cell type are deposited on the substrate. A first precursor of a substance adhering the cells is arranged on at least a selection of the primary cells of the first cell type. A second precursor of the substance adhering the cells is arranged in a locally targeted manner on the selection of primary cells of the first cell type according to a structure formed by cells of the first cell type in the tissue to be reproduced. The first precursor and the second precursor react with each other to form the substance adhering the cells, which substance adheres the selection of the primary cells of the first cell type according to the structure formed by the cells of the first cell type in the tissue to be reproduced.