Among the various aspects of the present disclosure is the provision of a hydrogel-based substrate comprising an aldehyde-containing component, such as N-ethanal acrylamide. The hydrogel component allows for functionalization of a hydrogel through conjugation of proteins (e.g., collagen) to the hydrogel in the absence of a post hoc crosslinking component.

Systems and methods for predicting a patient response to various agents and/or combinations of agents using ex vivo dosing and imaging are disclosed. In one example, a method of determining treatment efficacy includes analyzing a solid cell culture over time, e.g., first and second responses to a solid cell culture to respective treatments may be compared to determine a treatment efficacy of each treatment. Systems and methods for applying the treatments to the cell culture and analyzing the cell culture and efficacy are disclosed.

The present invention relates to a process for producing a composition comprising an aqueous medium and, disposed in the aqueous medium, a first volume of a first hydrogel, which process comprises: (i) providing a composition comprising a first hydrophobic medium and, disposed in the first hydrophobic medium, a first volume of a first hydrogel; (ii) disposing a volume of an aqueous composition comprising a hydrogel compound around the first volume of the first hydrogel; (iii) allowing the aqueous composition comprising the hydrogel compound to form a gel and thereby forming a hydrogel object, which hydrogel object comprises the first volume of the first hydrogel and a second volume of a second hydrogel, which second volume of the second hydrogel is disposed around the first volume of the first hydrogel; and (iv) transferring the hydrogel object from the first hydrophobic medium to an aqueous medium and thereby producing the composition comprising the aqueous medium and, disposed in the aqueous medium, the first volume of the first hydrogel. The invention further provides a hydrogel object, which hydrogel object comprises a first volume of a first hydrogel and a second volume of a second hydrogel, which second volume of the second hydrogel is disposed around the first volume of the first hydrogel.

A method of producing a cell mass by three-dimensional culture of primary cancer cells having proliferative ability and properties of handleability, versatility, and high-throughput performance, in which a tumor tissue is used as a starting material, proliferation of cells such as fibroblasts other than cancer cells is inhibited, and the cell mass includes primary cancer cells as a main component. The object is achieved by providing a method of producing a cell mass by three-dimensional culture of primary cancer cells using a tumor tissue, including: a three-dimensional culture step of culturing cells obtained from the tumor tissue in a medium containing a 5% v/v or less extracellular matrix on a substantially low-adhesive cell culture substrate.

The present invention provides, in order to prepare matured hepatocytes analogous in various points to primary hepatocytes, a method for preparing hepatocytes or cells that can be differentiated into hepatocytes from pluripotent stem cells, comprising the steps of: (1) culturing the pluripotent stem cells in a medium containing an activator of an activin receptor-like kinase-4,7; (2) culturing the cells obtained in the step (1) in a medium containing a bone morphogenetic factor and a fibroblast growth factor; (3) culturing the cells obtained in the step (2) in a medium containing an activator of a hepatocyte growth factor receptor and an activator of an oncostatin M receptor; and (4) culturing the cells obtained in the step (3) to obtain hepatocytes or cells that can be differentiated into hepatocytes, wherein in at least one of the steps (2), (3) and (4), cells are cultured on a high-density collagen gel membrane.

The present invention relates to a cell structure including cells containing at least hepatocytes and vascular endothelial cells, and extracellular matrix component, wherein the extracellular matrix components are disposed between the cells, and a liver sinusoidal network is provided between the cells.

Disclosed is a 3D porous medium and a method of manufacture. The 3D porous medium includes (i) a support structure of transparent hydrogel particles or emulsion droplets, (ii) bacterial nutrient in open volumes between the transparent hydrogel particles, as well as within micropores in the transparent hydrogel particles, and (iii) bacterial cells within the open volumes in the support structure.

A drug screening platform simulating hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy including a dielectrophoresis system, a microfluidic chip and a heating system is disclosed. The dielectrophoresis system is used to provide a dielectrophoresis force. The microfluidic chip includes a cell culture array and observation module and a drug mixing module. The cell culture array and observation module are used to arrange the cells into a three-dimensional structure through the dielectrophoresis force to construct a three-dimensional tumor microenvironment. The drug mixing module is coupled to the cell culture array and observation module and used to automatically split and mix the inputted drugs and output the drug combinations into the cell culture array and observation module. The heating system is used for real-time temperature sensing and heating control of the drug combinations on the microfluidic chip to simulate high-temperature drug environment when performing hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy on the three-dimensional tumor microenvironment.

Disclosed are bioprinted, three-dimensional, biological skin tissues comprising: a dermal layer comprising dermal fibroblasts; and an epidermal layer comprising keratinocytes, the epidermal layer in contact with the dermal layer to form the three-dimensional, engineered, biological skin tissue. Also disclosed are arrays of engineered skin tissues and methods of making engineered skin tissues.

The present invention provides a method for producing a unilocular adipocyte including inducing differentiation into unilocular adipocytes of mesenchymal cells having differentiation potency into adipocytes by culturing the mesenchymal cells in suspension in a liquid medium composition capable of culturing cells or tissues in suspension, wherein the liquid medium composition contains a polymer compound having an anionic functional group that binds via a divalent metal cation to form a structure capable of suspending cells or tissues, and the method wherein the polymer compound is polysaccharide, preferably polysaccharide containing a glucuronic acid moiety, more preferably deacylated gellan gum, diutan gum or xanthan gum or a salt thereof.