Cell confinement is a powerful approach to recreate the native mechanical and spatial environment of cells, offering a more realistic alternative to traditional 2D cultures.

At 4Dcell, we refer to our advanced confinement technologies as operating at a 2.5D level, a sweet spot between the simplicity of 2D and the complexity of 3D, enabling more physiologically relevant assays without sacrificing experimental control.

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Cells in vivo are rarely spread flat on a glass surface. They are surrounded by tissues, experience spatial constraints, and interact with their microenvironment in three dimensions. Through precise geometrical confinement, we guide the shape, polarity, and mechanics of individual cells or small colonies. This enhances the biological fidelity of in vitro experiments, leading to more predictive insights in cell behavior, drug response, and differentiation.

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Whether you are studying stem cell fate or cancer cell migration, 2.5D confinement allows you to tune mechanical cues and spatial organization with high reproducibility, critical for reliable and scalable drug discovery workflows.

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By mimicking the architecture of real tissues while maintaining accessibility and imaging compatibility, 4Dcell’s confinement systems bring the next level of physiological relevance to your cell culture assays.