A 3D cell culture is an in-vitro technology that allows cells to develop in a controlled environment. These surroundings are quite similar to the architecture and function of natural tissue. The 3D cell culture technique stimulates cell differentiation, proliferation, and migration by allowing cells to interact with their three-dimensional environments as they would in vivo. Because 3D cell cultures can replicate the structure, activity, and milieu of in-vivo tissues, they have a wide range of applications in drug screening, regenerative medicine, stem cell therapies, cancer research, and cell biology. Cell–cell communication in 3D cell cultures is enabled by the extracellular matrix, which secretes cytokines and trophic substances, just as it is in the in-vivo environment. These parameters are altered in a 2D environment, which can have a major impact on cell–cell communication and, as a result, cell morphology and proliferation. As 2D cultures cannot recapitulate the architecture and complex cellular matrices as in 3D cultures, this technique is gaining popularity in healthcare research sector. In addition, 3D cell cultures can provide results with improved efficiency and reduce the cost of overall R&D process.
COVID-19 Impact
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in nationwide lockdowns, thereby impacting every industry vertical. Likewise, the 3D cell culture market is also affected by the pandemic. The 3D cell culture industry is currently facing newer challenges to cope up with the demand and supply of 3D cell culture components owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, inconsistent and interrupted supply chain activities and availability of human resources are expected to impact the market growth. On the contrary, surge in research practices for developing novel therapies against COVID-19 is serving as a huge opportunity for the key market players. Research associated with stem cell therapies and regenerative medicine has shown promising results for treating the COVID-19 disease, thus, this is expected to compensate the deleterious impact caused by lockdowns globally. Thus, the overall COVID-19 impact is anticipated to remain moderate for the prominent players in the 3D cell culture market.
The 3D cell culture market is segmented by product into scaffold-based platforms, scaffold-free platforms, gels, bioreactors, microchips, and services. Scaffold-based platforms are utilised to change the cell culture technique by providing a surface for the cells to easily impart 3D growth on. Scaffolds are employed in drug discovery and cell expansion because a variety of materials and structural options are available. There are other benefits to using scaffold-based platforms, such as simplicity of imaging and a straightforward test procedure. Furthermore, the mechanical and biochemical properties of the scaffold can be easily adjusted to meet the requirements of the application. As a result of the increasing demand for scaffold-based platforms for producing 3D cell cultures, this segment is likely to dominate the product category during the forecast period.
No comments:
Post a Comment