Growing Drug Discovery Requirements Driving Innovation in 3D Cell Culture Systems

In vitro cell-based testing has long been an essential tool for the drug discovery process, providing speed, scalability, and cost efficiency for the research and development community.  However, to date, most in vitro drug testing utilizes two-dimensional (2D) monolayer cell cultures that are grown on flat surfaces.  While these traditional 2D cultures have historically been invaluable as a drug development tool, their drawbacks in advanced applications, such as cancer drug development and organ/tissue engineering, are all too obvious due to its limited ability to mimic how cells live and function in the real world (i.e., surrounded by other cells and the macromolecules comprising the extracellular matrix).

As a result, the development of in vitro cell culture systems that better replicate the in vivo three-dimensional (3D) characteristics of the extracellular matrix, while maintaining the speed, scalability and cost advantages of traditional 2D systems, is a critical area of innovation that will transform our ability to test drugs, grow cell spheroids and organoids, among other applications, in a microenvironment that has high predictive value of subsequent in vivo success.

Product Overview

SpherTantrix is a highly porous material, typically made from a polysaccharide.  It is produced using Tantti's proprietary and patented technology, which ensures a number of product characteristics that result in competitively advantaged performance features, including the following: