MAGNETIC 3D CELL CULTURING
Magnetic 3D Cell Culturing
The core technology is the magnetization of cells with NanoShuttle™-PL. The cells can be aggregated with magnetic forces, either by levitation or printing, to form structurally and biologically representative 3D models in vitro.
The advantages of magnetic cell culture include:
- Mimicking native tissue environment
- Rapid 3D model formation within hours
- No specialized equipment, media, or artificial substrate
- Easy to handle / no sample loss
- Allows co-culture
With magnetized spheroids, solution addition and removal is made easy by using magnetic force to hold them in a stationary position during aspiration, thereby limiting spheroid loss. Spheroids can also be picked up and transferred between vessels using magnetic tools such as the MagPen™.
NanoShuttle™-PL consists of gold, iron oxide, and poly-L-lysine. NanoShuttle™-PL magnetizes cells by electrostatically attaching to cell membranes during an overnight static incubation. Magnetized cells will appear peppered with dark nanoparticles after incubation. NanoShuttle™-PL will stay attached to the cell membrane for up to 8 days, at which point it’s released into the 3D culture. NanoShuttle™-PL is biocompatible, having no effect on metabolism, proliferation, and inflammatory stress, and even encouraging proliferation in 3D. Additionally, it does not interfere with experimental techniques, such as fluorescence, or Western blotting.