Nanotoxicology in 3D Cell Culture
Advantages of nanomaterials over their bulk counterparts is a result of their unique physicochemical properties but this may also affect their potential toxicity. Although the demand in commerce for the utilization of nanomaterials increase over time, their interaction with biological systems and environment is not clear.
2D cell culture techniques are used in the common in vitro toxicity tests because of their cost-effective and simple applications. The natural structures, cell-cell and cell-environment interactions of the tissues or tumors are not mimicked completely with the 2D cell culture. Since these interactions are crucial in many aspects of biological systems, diverse phenotypes may be lost in 2D cell cultures. To model the interactions in biological systems, 3D cell culture techniques are the more relevant option.
3D cell culture techniques are used to establish more accurate in vitro culture models which leads to increased compatibility with corresponding in vivo applications. There are several techniques for the establishment of 3D cell culture models including scaffold based and scaffold-free methods. 3D printing of scaffold systems are quite popular in the field because of the achievable fabrication of precise geometries.
BioNanoLab studies the novel nanotoxicology methods to be used in 3D printed scaffolds from alternative biocompatible and biodegradable products. We aim to reduce the cost of the existing methods whilst providing an environment-friendly systems to be used in 3D cell cultures.
