An advancement in tissue engineering could reduce the need for animal testing. Biomedical engineers at Brown University announced that they have successfully grown and assembled complex-shaped microtissues in three dimensional Petri dishes they invented. The team of Brown students, led by professor Jeffrey Morgan, grew 3-D clusters of cells in one petri dish and then added them to more complex 3-D molds shaped like a honeycomb or donut. Such an innovation could potentially reduce the need for some animal research as the added complexity allows researchers to build microtissues into shapes that mimic the shapes and patterns of the inner body.

"There is a need for... tissue models that more closely mimic natural tissue already inside the body in terms of function and architecture," said Morgan, a Brown professor of medical science and engineering. "This shows we can control the size, shape and position of cells within these 3-D structures."

The findings not only point to ways researchers can mimic organs, but may form the basis for advanced research on tissue engineering for organ transplants and regenerative medicine. "We think this is one step toward using building blocks to build complex-shaped tissues that might one day be transplanted," said Morgan.

The findings appear in the March 1 edition of Biotechnology and Bioengineering.

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