ECM-Based vs. ECM-Free? Choosing the Right Format for 2D and 3D Models
What is the difference between ECM-based and ECM-free systems in 2D and 3D cell culture? When are ECM-derived cues required for tissue organization and differentiation in 3D models? How do...
How Do Transwell and TEER Assays Help Us Understand Biological Barrier Function?
How do Transwell assays help model biological barriers in the lab? What does TEER tell us about barrier integrity and tight-junction strength? How can these assays advance our understanding of drug...
2D vs 3D Cell Culture: Choosing the Right Model for Disease Research
In our last article, we compared 2D organ-on-a-chip devices and 3D organoids with respect to their use in drug discovery, highlighting their importance in modeling diseases and evaluating efficacy...
Chips and Beyond: The Attraction of 3D Organoid Models in Drug Discovery
A critical prerequisite for any drug discovery program is the availability of robust ways to study the disease in question and evaluate how experimental treatments impact disease phenotypes. Disease...
iPSC Culture: What Every Researcher Needs to Know
Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have become a mainstay in disease modeling and drug development, offering almost unlimited opportunities to study human biology in the lab. However, working...
Visualizing ATP in a Cell
Genetically encoded biosensors have become popular and powerful LIVE-cell reporters in recent years (see reference here). These biosensors can be incorporated into a variety of human inducible...
Mesenchymal Stem Cells from Different Sources
The remarkable propensity of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for self-renewal, multi-lineage differentiation and immune-modulatory activity has attracted much attention within the cell therapy area,...
What are Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) Requirements?
Pharmaceutical quality is of vital importance. Imagine getting a prescription from your doctor for drug X. You go to the pharmacy to pick it up, grab a bottle of water and then take the recommended...
How to Detect, Avoid and Deal With Contaminated Cell Cultures
There is nothing more tragic than walking into your tissue culture room only to find a researcher curled up on the floor, clasping a flask, and wailing that their cells have been contaminated. It's...