The Problem:
Tumor organoids are miniaturized models of simplified tumor tissue. This new generation of cancer modeling is highly useful for observing cell-to-cell interactions, cell-to-matrix interactions, and cell differentiation. However, the current process for creating organoids is generated by tissue isolated from animals or humans, does not follow any scalable, standardized procedure, and is slow and very labor intensive over the course of many manual steps. Generating and storing large quantities of tumor organoids is labor intensive and problematic with lack of industry standards.
The Solution:
Researchers at the University of Alabama have developed a new bio-manufacturing process to create human-derived tumor tissues. This process uses cancer stem cells to regenerate cancerous tissue into an in-vitro 3D tissue-like model, under defined manufacturing guidelines. Without the use of external stimuli, this invention starts from human-derived single cells and coaxes them to produce tissue like products using inherent biology. This process creates complex models that closely resembles real patient tissue and can be done quickly, easily, and with high yield.
Benefits:
Publications
"Biomanufacturing of glioblastoma organoids exhibiting hierarchical and spatially organized tumor microenvironment via transdifferentiation"
Patent Pending