Professor Lim Dojin's Research Team at Pukyong National University Publishes Cover Paper in International Journal

Development of a New 3D Cell Culture Technology Using Oil Droplets... Published in the International Journal 'Small Methods'

The research paper by Professor Lim Dojin's team (Department of Chemical Engineering) at Pukyong National University has been published as a cover article in an international academic journal.

Small Methods Cover.

The title of the paper featured on the cover of the latest issue is "3D Cell Culture Method in Channel-Free Water-in-Oil Droplets."

In this paper, Professor Lim Dojin's research team developed and presented a new three-dimensional cell culture technology using water-in-oil droplets without channels for the cultivation of organoids, artificial organ models.

Organoids, which are artificially created organ models, are attracting attention as a new preclinical model that can replace animal testing and are being called the "game changer of future regenerative medicine."

However, there is a limitation in organoid cultivation due to the size restriction of 3D cell aggregates determined by the scale of the culture system, making it essential to sequentially change the culture system through a cumbersome and complex process.

To solve this problem, the research team achieved the formation of various sizes of 3D cell aggregates using a new droplet-based 3D cell culture technology that does not use channels, enabling a simple and easy system configuration.

Bae Seojun, a doctoral student and the first author of this research paper, systematically analyzed more than 10,000 spheroid images and discovered that the size of the spheroids formed can be determined by controlling the size of the droplets.

He said, "The channel-free water-in-oil droplet 3D cell culture technology, when combined with digital microfluidic technology that excels in droplet manipulation, is expected to contribute to the development of automated organoid culture systems."

Characteristics of 3D Cell Culture Technology in an Oil Droplet Environment and Images Showing Changes in Spheroid Size According to Droplet Size.

Professor Lim Dojin's research team conducted this study with support from the Mid-Career Researcher Support Program of the National Research Foundation of Korea.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.