The in vitro culture of cells has played a central role in the biological sciences dating back to the beginning of the 20thcentury. Yet, for all the advanced tools that have been developed for studying cells, the method for culturing cells has remained virtually unchanged. The classical method for culturing cells involves growing cells as two-dimensional monolayers on flat, impermeable supports made of plastic or glass. While this method contributed much to our understanding of basic cell biology, it falls short of recapitulating in vivo structure and function of differentiated tissues. The key component that is missing in monolayer culture is growth in 3D. It has long been appreciated that the culture of cells in 2D monolayers leads to a rapid loss of the differentiated phenotype, but only in the last 10-15 years have methods to culture cells in 3D come into more widespread use.
Improve your 3D cultures - read more!