Biomaterial-based Tumor Spheroid and Organoid Models for Drug Screening Applications

TOPICAL COLLECTIONS

Guest Editor

Silviya Zustiak

Saint Louis University

Dr. Zustiak obtained a BS/MS degree in Bioelectrical Engineering from the Technical University in Sofia, Bulgaria in 2002 and a PhD in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering from the University of Maryland Baltimore County in 2009. She spent 3 years at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland conducting postdoctoral research in biophysics. In 2011, she received the NIH Fellows Award for Research Excellence for her work on transport in complex media. Dr. Zustiak joined the Biomedical Engineering Department at Saint Louis University (SLU) in January 2013. At SLU she was awarded the Outstanding Parks Graduate Faculty Award in 2015 and the SLU Scholarly Works Award for a Junior Faculty in 2017. She is a Co-Director for the Institute of Drug and Biotherapeutic Innovation and on the Executive Leadership Committee for the Henry and Amelia Nasrallah Center for Neuroscience at SLU. Dr. Zustiak is a frequent reviewer for the National Institute of Health, the National Science Foundation, Department of Defense, multiple scientific journals and is on the Editorial board for Frontiers in Biotechnology and Bioengineering and Pharmaceuticals journals. Dr. Zustiak’s research is highly multidisciplinary, merging the fields of engineering, materials science, biophysics, and biology. Her research is focused on hydrogel biomaterials and tissue engineering, with emphasis on developing novel biomaterials as drug screening platforms and delivery devices for biologics, elucidating matrix structure-property relationships as well as cell-matrix interactions. Her work has resulted in over 50 peer-reviewed publications, over 200 presentations at regional and national conferences and multiple patent applications.

Collection Overview

Building biomaterial-based three-dimensional in-vitro models for understanding tissue and disease pathophysiology is a key challenge in tissue engineering. The conventional tissue culture models do not replicate the complexities of human tissue, whereas animal models are costly, time-consuming, and raise severe ethical concerns. However, biomaterial-based 3D models can bridge both techniques as well as overcome their limitations. The development of platforms for drug screening is one area where in-vitro models are underrepresented yet can have an immediate impact. In-vitro models like this have the potential to address growing concerns about drug failures in clinical trials due to inefficacy or unforeseen side effects. This methods collection aims to highlight technologies for developing such in-vitro biomaterial-based drug screening platforms with a focus on tumor spheroid and organoid models. Methods to fabricate such platforms might include static cultures, microfluidic technologies, additive manufacturing, droplet-based technologies, and others. Of further interest are methods focused on the assessment of cell responses to drug screening, such as imaging modalities, staining protocols, mechanical testing, and others.

Abstracts

Glioblastoma spheroid formation and encapsulation in tunable polyethylene glycol hydrogels.

Joseph Bruns¹,

Silviya Zustiak^*1

¹Saint Louis University

Guest Editor

Collection Overview

Articles

Hydrogel Arrays Enable Increased Throughput for Screening Effects of Matrix Components and Therapeutics in 3D Tumor Models

Tumor Spheroid Fabrication and Encapsulation in Polyethylene Glycol Hydrogels for Studying Spheroid-Matrix Interactions

Abstracts