Summary
Published in American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology (2012), this peer-reviewed study used 3D Petri Dish® micro-molds to form scaffold-free 3D microtissues. Full citation: Desroches, B. R., et al. Functional scaffold-free 3-D cardiac microtissues: a novel model for the investigation of heart cells
Functional scaffold-free 3-D cardiac microtissues: a novel model for the investigation of heart cells
Research Overview
Existing 3D cardiac culture approaches carry limitations of cost, scale, and fidelity. This study developed a scaffold-free cardiac model designed to generate large numbers of microtissues easily and inexpensively, with cellular distribution and function resembling real cardiac tissue.
Using micro-molded nonadhesive agarose hydrogels containing 822 concave recesses (800 µm deep × 400 µm wide), neonatal rat ventricular cardiomyocytes and cardiac fibroblasts — alone or combined — self-assembled into viable spherical microtissues, confirmed by live/dead staining. Seeding both cell types simultaneously produced microtissues with tissue-like cellular organization and functional behavior.
Key Discoveries
- 822-recess agarose molds (800 µm deep × 400 µm wide) produced cardiac microtissues at scale
- Cardiomyocytes and cardiac fibroblasts self-assembled alone or in combination, remaining viable
- Co-seeding yielded cellular distribution and function resembling native cardiac tissue
