Introduction
A 3D cell culture is a simulated environment in which organic cells are allowed to develop and remain in contact with their surroundings. In 2D environments like in an experimental petri dish, the cells are not allowed to grow in every direction. However, this problem in solved in 3D cell culture which in which cells are grown in small capsules, called bioreactors. Bioreactors allow cells to undergo in vitro transformation into spheroids. These spheroids are also called 3D cell colonies. These culture systems have gained popularity due to being more efficient than 2D cell cultures in providing crucial information in researches being made in the field of tissue engineering and drug discovery.
3D Cell Culture Market
The global 3D cell culture market is rising steadily due to increased research in this segment, vested interests of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and government actions. The global 3D cell culture market evaluated at USD466.8 Million in 2016 which is rising rapidly at the CAGR of 23.6% due to increasing demand of organ transplantation and for heavily demanded research in cancer treatment. These two factors are also the driving factors for the 3D cell culture market. Owing to these factors the global 3D cell culture market is expected to reach USD 1345.2 Million by 2021. North America holds the largest slice in the global 3D cell culture market because of increasing number of organ transplantation in the continent. Apart from others the use of these 3D cell culture techniques in producing vaccines, antibiotics, etc. are also supposed to push the market.
Uses of 3D Cell Culture
• For Drug Testing: Drug testing has been carried out on animal models for a long time. However along-with the rise in ethical issues by such testing came the high costs and time consumed to study the effects of drugs. 3D cell cultures have solved this problem by providing an in vivo response to drugs under in vitro conditions. It is a cost effective technology which saves a lot of time in drug screening.
• Microfluidic Technology: These are also called organs-on-chips that can duplicate the actions of a living organism. They can replicate a tissue function and can also develop a disease model in the laboratory.
• Tissue Engineering: 3D cell cultures are greatly efficient in tissue regeneration. Saving the need to use biomaterials, with the help of these cultures the tissues can be constructed by fibre scaffolds.
Conclusion
3D cell culture models hold the advantage over 2D models due to obviously greater cell to cell interactions. 3D culture systems have great potential in various medical fields such asin drug discovery, cancer research, stem cell research, and many other cell related analyses however there are still many obstacles before they could be widely accepted. Industries which can take this to the next level need to be assured and modernized enough to carry out the R&D and the automation required in this area.
Crystal Market Research published a report on “3D Cell Culture Market by Technology, Application, and End User - Global Industry Analysis and Forecast to 2025” released and accessible at http://www.crystalmarketresearch.com/report/3d-cell-culture-market