Use of natural scaffolds to study cancer cells in a ۳D culture system

Introduction: Tissue engineering scaffolds make it possible to study the mechanisms involved in carcinogenesis through an in-vitro simulation of extracellular matrix and its interactions with cancer cells. The two main problems in this field are the high cost of producing scaffolds and low biodegradability and biocompatibility of them. Therefore, the aim of this study was to isolate three porous natural scaffolds to develop an affordable and biocompatible ۳D cell growth system. Methods: First, the scaffolds, including date peel, the eggshell and its membrane, were separated and sterilized by autoclaving (۱۲۱°C for ۳۰ minutes). Then, the structure of each scaffold was examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) before and after culturing A۵۴۹ lung cancer cells on them for ۴۸ hours (fixed by ۴% glutaraldehyde). Finally, the viability of cells on these scaffolds was measured using MTT assay (۲۴۰,۰۰۰ cells/scaffold after ۴۸ hours). Results: Based on the SEM images, both the eggshell and its membrane had a ۳D fibrous structure and allowed cells to grow in ۳ dimensions on them; However, the structure of date peel was sheet-like and just extended in ۲ dimensions. Moreover, the comparison of MTT results between cell-containing scaffolds and cell-free scaffolds (control) revealed that the cells survived significantly on all three. Conclusion: this study shows that the fibrous structure of both eggshell and its membrane allows viable cancer cells to grow in a ۳D system for some cancer-related researches.

کلیدواژه ها:

Scaffold ، Cancer ، egg shells ، egg membrane ، date palm