Title
A multichanneled bacterial cellulose scaffold for 3D in vitro cancer culture
Authors
HONGLIN LUO FENG GU GUANGYAO XIONG DA HU YONG ZHU and YIZAO WAN

Received May 22, 2014
Published Volume 50 Issue 1 January
Keywords bacterial cellulose, multichannel, pore structure, tumor model, cancer cell

Abstract
Artificial three-dimensional (3D) in vitro tumor models mimicking the native cell architecture and environments are highly desirable tools for studying tumor progression and screening therapeutics. In this work, a 3D bacterial cellulose (BC) scaffold with multichanneled macropores (~300 µm) was fabricated. The obtained MM-BC scaffold was characterized by SEM, mercury intrusion porosimeter, contact angle and mechanical measurements, and determined for its potential as a tumor model. It was demonstrated that the MM-BC scaffold exhibited hierarchical pore structure and sufficient mechanical strength. Moreover, the MM-BC scaffold supported the adhesion, migration, and proliferation of primary culture cancer cells, allowed the cells’ infiltration into the core of the scaffold. The results suggested that the MM-BC scaffold can be an effective in vitro tumor model to study cancer progression and drug screening.