Surface Matters: Achieving In Vivo-like Conditions In Cancer Research

So often, we’re told to scratch beneath the surface when evaluating our options, and think long term.

But when you’re working to achieve physiological conditions for your cell cultures, the surface is exactly where you want your focus to be. The surface used to cultivate cancer cells, for example, has a direct effect on the formation and proliferation of cancer spheroids. And when you’re working in cancer research, it can make all the difference in generating meaningful results and identifying effective treatments. 

But how do you best encourage spheroid formation in your cell cultures?

Want to learn more? Explore our on-demand webinar: Harnessing New Dimensions In Your Research: Growing 3D Cultures Consistently and Repeatedly

2D versus 3D

The two-dimensional monolayer cell culture is well known, and it results in a comforting uniformity—cells exposed to consistent concentrations of oxygen and nutrients, relatively uniform growth rate, and equal exposure to extracellular signals. None of this, however, replicates the in vivo growth environment of tumors, whose surfaces and hypoxic cores demonstrate distinct growth patterns.

Cancer spheroids better model tumor progression and are a better tool for anti-cancer drug screening.

The ideal spheroid conditions

We have done a lot of testing to identify conditions ideal to the spontaneous formation of spheroids. Working with an ultra low-binding surface coated with a neutrally charged hydrophilic polymer, we saw excellent spheroid growth in test after test of cancer lines, including HeLa, MCF-7, and HepG2.

Accordingly, we’ve developed a new line of ultra low-binding flasks, dishes, multi-dishes, and plates with surface characteristics that specifically encourage the growth of reproducible spheroids. You can learn more about this innovative line of cultureware, designed to help advance your cancer research.

Watch the webinar and learn more about growing 3D cancer cultures

So when you’re determining which growth surface to use for spheroid cultures, don’t look too far beneath the surface. Learn more by viewing our Cell Culture Café on-demand webinar (access and watch at any time!), Harnessing New Dimensions In Your Research: Growing 3D Cultures Consistently and Repeatedly.

You can also explore our full collection of on-demand webinars in our Cell Culture Café Library.