Gels
Control the 3D structure and mechanics of your cells
TECHNOLOGY
Cells are cultured in a 3D environment (different stiffnesses, either flat or microstructured, to mimic in vivo conditions.
> Stiffness of the substrate can be chosen from very soft (1 kPa) to very hard (80 kPa)
> Wide range of substrates topography available (flat, round wells, square wells, grooves, etc.)
> The gel based substrates are ready to be used in your cell culture experiments
> Easy and straightforward to use, since cells are seeded directly on top of the features (convenient to confine non migrating cells)
> Pre-coated with ECM matrix (e.g. fibronectin)
> Adaptable to any cell culture substrate (coverslips, Petri dishes, multiwell plates)
> The optically transparency of the gels makes these substrates compatible with high-resolution optical microscopy systems
> Contact us if you want a customized design
APPLICATIONS
Cell differentiation, Cell mechanics, Cell contractility, Cell migration, Tissue geometry mimicry, 3D cell shape control, etc.
HeLa cells on 4Dcell’s microstructured gel
Explore examples of applications
> 3D Liver canaliculi assay: spheroid formation in 3D gels
> 3D Cardiomyocytes maturation assay: assessing the beating of iPSC-CMs
PUBLICATIONS
- Adherens junction engagement regulates functional patterning of the cardiac pacemaker cell lineage
Thomas et al., 2021, Developmental Cell 56, 1498–1511 - Cardiac spheroids as promising in vitro models to study the human heart microenvironment
Polonchuk, L., et al. Scientific reports, 2017 7(1), 7005 - Current and emerging modalities for detection of cardiotoxicity in cardio-oncology
Khouri, M. G., et al. Future cardiology, 2015 11(4), 471-484 - Bioinspired living structural color hydrogels
Fu, F., et al. Science Robotics, 2018 3(16), eaar8580
- Preparation of hydrogel substrates with tunable mechanical properties
Tse, J. R., & Engler, A. J. Current protocols in cell biology, 2010 47(1) 10-16 - Differentiation of liver progenitor cell line to functional organotypic cultures in 3D nanofibrillar cellulose and hyaluronan-gelatin hydrogels
Malinen, M. M., et al. Biomaterials, 2014 35(19), 5110-5121.