The present disclosure relates to compositions and methods for culturing a population of hepatocytes in vitro, comprising co-culturing the population of hepatocytes with at least one non-parenchymal cell population and incubating the co-culture in culture medium, wherein the co-culture is periodically incubated in culture medium that does not comprise serum (serum-free culture medium).

A bacteriophage structure, a method of making the structure, and uses of the structure are described. The structure is a substrate with a surface having an ordered arrangement of parallel microridges thereon. Each microridge is composed of a plurality of nanoridges and has a longitudinal axis. Each nanoridge contains a bundle of phage nano fibers having longitudinal axes. The phage nanofibers in each nanoridge bundle are arranged in a substantially smectic alignment. The longitudinal axis of each microridge is perpendicular to the longitudinal axes of the phage nanofibers which make up the nanoridges of the microridge. The structure may be used as a growth surface for inducing differentiation of stem cells such as neural progenitor cells.

Engineered, living, three-dimensional liver tissue constructs including: one or more layers, wherein each layer contains one or more liver cell types, the one or more layers cohered to form a living, three-dimensional liver tissue construct free of pre-formed scaffold. Also disclosed are arrays and methods of making the same.

Inducible engineered tissue constructs comprising at least one cell population comprising a genetic construct are provided. Methods of making and using said constructs are also provided.

Systems and methods for growing cells or cell sheets are described. The method may use biocompatible or food-safe materials. The method may allow for cell alignment, optionally in selected patterns, which may be produced by casting a membrane on a 3D printed mold. The method may include surface treatment of an elastomeric membrane. The method may allow for the reuse of the membranes by autoclaving and/or a washing step. The method may create multi-layer cell sheets with an extracellular matrix (ECM) created by the cells, which may be detached from the membrane. Optionally, the cells may be separated from the ECM.

Provided is a composition capable of promoting osteogenic differentiation of stem cells, comprising, as active ingredients, a bone and cartilage progenitor cell culture solution and a multilayer graphene film, which promotes the differentiation of stem cells into specific cells, and thus is expected to be variously applicable in the in vivo/in vitro stem cell application fields.

The present disclosure provides a method of fabricating curvature-defined (C-D) or shape-defined (S-D) concave and convex polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surfaces and a method of fabricating C-D or S-D convex and concave gel surfaces for use in cell and tissue culturing and in other surface and interface applications, and provides a method of using C-D or S-D convex and concave surfaces with varying curvatures to direct cell attachment, spreading, and migration.

The present disclosure provides a method of fabricating curvature-defined (C-D) or shape-defined (S-D) concave and convex polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surfaces and a method of fabricating C-D or S-D convex and concave gel surfaces for use in cell and tissue culturing and in other surface and interface applications, and provides a method of using C-D or S-D convex and concave surfaces with varying curvatures to direct cell attachment, spreading, and migration.

The invention relates to devices, methods, kits, and compositions for in vitro generation of three-dimensional micro-tissues that are accurate models of heart, skeletal muscle, neuronal, and other tissues.

The invention relates to the fields of biomaterials, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. More specifically, it relates to biomaterial substrates having precise surface properties and the use thereof to investigate cell-material interactions. Provided is a cell culture system having a biomaterial substrate which has at least a first linear surface gradient oriented orthogonally to a second linear surface gradient, wherein the first gradient and the second gradient are selected from the group consisting of stiffness (S), (aligned) topography (T) and wettability (W). Also provided is a cell screening platform having a combination of at least two, preferably at least three, more preferably four distinct cell culture systems.