Plasticell and CellSpring collaborate on high performance drug screening

By Melissa Fassbender

- Last updated on GMT

According to Plasticell, the global bone grafts and substitutes market is estimated to be $2.5bn per year. (Image: iStock/maxuser)
According to Plasticell, the global bone grafts and substitutes market is estimated to be $2.5bn per year. (Image: iStock/maxuser)
The collaboration combines Plasticell’s cell culture media for creating fat and bone cells in 2-dimensional cell cultures, with CellSpring’s high throughput 3-dimensional screening assays for drug discovery.
3D Bloom embedded with human MSC cultured for 10 days with OsteoMAXXF (B372+), and compared to similar samples in which osteogenesis was induced by serum supplemented with BMP2 (Pos. Ctrl.). Osteogenesis was measured by increased alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and staining of mineral deposits using Alizarin Red. Top panel shows 3D Bloom micro-tissues in wells of a 96 well plate whereas the middle (scale bars = 1mm) and bottom (scale bars = 0.1 mm) panels show staining at increasing magnifications. (Image: Plasticell)
3D Bloom embedded with human MSC cultured for 10 days with OsteoMAXXF (B372+), and compared to similar samples in which osteogenesis was induced by serum supplemented with BMP2 (Pos. Ctrl.). Osteogenesis was measured by increased alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and staining of mineral deposits using Alizarin Red. Top panel shows 3D Bloom micro-tissues in wells of a 96 well plate whereas the middle (scale bars = 1mm) and bottom (scale bars = 0.1 mm) panels show staining at increasing magnifications. (Image: Plasticell)

CellSpring’s​ system, the 3D Bloom® Biopolymer Platform, enables "stop/go" decisions for preclinical candidates​, according to Plasticell, which added that 3D cell cultures more closely resemble natural tissues when compared to conventional 2D cultures grown on flat dishes. 

Additionally, the company said 3D tissues have more accurate biological responses to drug treatment. 

As per the new collaboration, the companies will develop tissue models using 3D Bloom Biopolymer seeded with hMSCs, which are differentiated to bone, cartilage, and brown/white fat tissue in collaboration with Plasticell’s​ proprietary Combinatorial Cell Culture™ (CombiCult®) platform.

Aaron Chuang, Plasticell chief scientific officer, told Outsourcing-Pharma.com that the collaboration aims to “demonstrate the efficiency of Plasticell media in creating 3-dimensional cell cultures suitable for drug screening​.”

We aim to achieve the establishment of protocols to consistently generate bone and fat cells in 3-dimensional cultures for drug screening​,” he added.

Chuang said the next steps moving forward will be joint publication and potential deployment of Plasticell media in CellSpring assays, adding that preliminary data demonstrates positive outcomes.

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