Characterization of the cell growth activity of tissue cells in 3D scaffolds with integrated sensors

• Applicants: Professor Dr.-Ing. Ralf Pörtner; Professor Dr.-Ing. Hoc Khiem Trieu
• Subject Area: Medical Physics, Biomedical Technology ; Biological Process Engineering
• Term: from 2014 to 2018
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 244583328

Many biological problems (drug discovery, toxicity testing, etc.) cannot be answered with 2D cell cultures adequately. As a consequence, test results obtained in 2D culture are only par-tially transferable to the situation in 3D or in vivo. Even if there are a number of well-described 3-D models, still an on-line characterization of the 3D culture is difficult. Therefore goal of the project is to develop a scaffold with a defined geometric structure and integrated sensors for measuring the impedance as indicator for cell growth activity of the 3D culture of animal and human cells. Such a scaffold with integrated sensors would be a valuable tool for drug screening, e.g. for evaluation of anticancer drugs. Here, different cell culture models growing in 3D come into consideration, such as tumor cell models or liver models. The defined geometric structure of the intended scaffold is designed to allow for substantially uniform flow conditions, as well as to ensure a supply of the cells within the scaffolds. By impedance measurements, growth and distribution of the cells will be evaluated. The results of these measurements will be compared with 2D models.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants