Three-dimensional Culture of L929 and UMR106 Cells in Self-prepared Alginate Sponges

Abstract

Three-dimensional culture of the cells in vitro is expected for therapeutic purposes. We self-prepared alginate sponges by freeze-drying the mixture of 2 % (low-molecular-weight, medium-molecular-weight and high-molecular -weight) sodium alginate solutions and 0.2% calcium sulfate solution. The low-molecular-weight alginate sponge had the largest interconnected porosities with mean diameter of more than 100μm. We seeded L929 and UMR106 cells on the low-molecular-weight alginate sponge, and cultured them for 7 and 31 days. For 7 days, optical microscopy revealed that two cells became round-shaped while adhering to the sponge wall. For 31 days, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) clarified that two cells were flat elongated or round-shaped with many interconnected projections. The low-molecular-weight alginate sponge appears to be useful as a three-dimensional scaffold for cell culture in vitro.