3D Carbon Scaffolds for Neural Stem Cell Culture and Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

3D glassy carbon structures with percolated macropores are obtained by pyrolysis of chemically synthesized cryogels featuring tunable porosity. These batch-fabricated structures are used as scaffolds for culturing neural stem cells (NSCs) and are characterized by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). With the aid of MRI, the successful cultivation of NSCs on a glassy carbon surface and the precise 3D locations of these cell clusters within the opaque scaffold are demonstrated. MRI also yields pore morphology and porosity analyses, pre- and post-pyrolysis. This integrated approach yields a complete 3D dataset of the NSC network, which enables the visual inspection of the morphological details of individual cell clusters without disturbing them or destroying the scaffold. Reported experimental methodology is expected to have an impact on studies designed to understand the mechanism of neurodegenerative disease (ND) development, and can serve as a protocol for the culture of various other types of cells that display compatibility with glassy carbon surfaces.

Silk scaffolds connected with different naturally occurring biomaterials for prostate cancer cell cultivation in 3D.

In the present work, different biopolymer blend scaffolds based on the silk protein fibroin from Bombyx mori (BM) were prepared via freeze-drying method. The chemical, structural, and mechanical properties of the three dimensional (3D) porous silk fibroin (SF) composite scaffolds of gelatin, collagen, and chitosan as well as SF from Antheraea pernyi (AP) and the recombinant spider silk protein spidroin (SSP1) have been systematically investigated, followed by cell culture experiments with epithelial prostate cancer cells (LNCaP) up to 14 days. Compared to the pure SF scaffold of BM, the blend scaffolds differ in porous morphology, elasticity, swelling behavior, and biochemical composition. The new composite scaffold with SSP1 showed an increased swelling degree and soft tissue like elastic properties. Whereas, in vitro cultivation of LNCaP cells demonstrated an increased growth behavior and spheroid formation within chitosan blended scaffolds based on its remarkable porosity, which supports nutrient supply matrix. Results of this study suggest that silk fibroin matrices are sufficient and certain SF composite scaffolds even improve 3D cell cultivation for prostate cancer research compared to matrices based on pure biomaterials or synthetic polymers.

Superporous Poly(ethylene glycol) Diacrylate Cryogel with a Defined Elastic Modulus for Prostate Cancer Cell Research.

The physical and mechanical properties of the tumor microenvironment are crucial for the growth, differentiation and migration of cancer cells. However, such microenvironment is not found in the geometric constraints of 2D cell culture systems used in many cancer studies. Prostate cancer research, in particular, suffers from the lack of suitable in vitro models. Here a 3D superporous scaffold is described with thick pore walls in a mechanically stable and robust architecture to support prostate tumor growth. This scaffold is generated from the cryogelation of poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate to produce a defined elastic modulus for prostate tumor growth. Lymph node carcinoma of the prostate (LNCaP) cells show a linear growth over 21 d as multicellular tumor spheroids in such a scaffold with points of attachments to the walls of the scaffold. These LNCaP cells respond to the growth promoting effects of androgens and demonstrate a characteristic cytoplasmic-nuclear translocation of the androgen receptor and androgen-dependent gene expression. Compared to 2D cell culture, the expression or androgen response of prostate cancer specific genes is greatly enhanced in the LNCaP cells in this system. This scaffold is therefore a powerful tool for prostate cancer studies with unique advantages over 2D cell culture systems.