Alginate core-shell beads for simplified three-dimensional tumor spheroid culture and drug screening.

Abstract

We demonstrate that when using cell-laden core-shell hydrogel beads to support the generation of tumor spheroids, the shell structure reduces the out-of-bead and monolayer cell proliferation that occurs during long-term culture of tumor cells within core-only alginate beads. We fabricate core-shell beads in a two-step process using simple, one-layer microfluidic devices. Tumor cells encapsulated within the bead core will proliferate to form multicellular aggregates which can serve as three-dimensional (3-D) models of tumors in drug screening. Encapsulation in an alginate shell increased the time that cells could be maintained in three-dimensional culture for MCF-7 breast cancer cells prior to out-of-bead proliferation, permitting formation of spheroids over a period of 14 days without the need move the cell-laden beads to clean culture flasks to separate beads from underlying monolayers. Tamoxifen and docetaxel dose response shows decreased toxicity for multicellular aggregates in three-dimensional core-shell bead culture compared to monolayer. Using simple core-only beads gives mixed monolayer and 3-D culture during drug screening, and alters the treatment result compared to the 3-D core-shell or the 2-D monolayer groups, as measured by standard proliferation assay. By preventing the out-of-bead proliferation and subsequent monolayer formation that is observed with core-only beads, the core-shell structure can obviate the requirement to transfer the beads to a new culture flask during drug screening, an important consideration for cell-based drug screening and drugs which have high multicellular resistance index.

• Authors: Linfen Yu, Cynthia Ni, Samantha M Grist, Carmen Bayly, Karen C Cheung
• Journal: Biomedical microdevices (Biomed Microdevices) Vol. 17 Issue 2 Pg. 33 (Apr 2015) ISSN: 1572-8781 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 25681969 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Alginates
• Hexuronic Acids
• Hydrogels
• Taxoids
• Tamoxifen
• Docetaxel
• Glucuronic Acid

Topics

• Alginates (chemistry)
• Cell Culture Techniques (instrumentation, methods)
• Cell Proliferation
• Docetaxel
• Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
• Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor (instrumentation, methods)
• Equipment Design
• Glucuronic Acid (chemistry)
• Hexuronic Acids (chemistry)
• Humans
• Hydrogels
• Lab-On-A-Chip Devices
• MCF-7 Cells (drug effects)
• Microspheres
• Tamoxifen (pharmacology)
• Taxoids (pharmacology)