Bioengineers at Rice University have developed a system inspired by the lotus leaf’s self-cleaning, water-repellent surface to culture cancer cell clusters. This zinc oxide-based culturing surface mimics the nanoscale texture of the lotus leaf, providing a new platform for generating three-dimensional tumor models. The superhydrophobic array device (SHArD) is capable of creating compact, physiologically relevant models for studying cancer progression, including metastasis, the spread of cancer cells from the primary tumor site to other parts of the body.
Metastasis, the leading cause of cancer deaths, is a challenging stage of the disease to study due to the lack of accurate and high-throughput models. The SHArD culturing platform developed by Rice bioengineers offers a tool to better understand metastasis and identify ways to intervene and prevent it. By creating three-dimensional tumor models, researchers can study the properties of primary and metastatic tumors more effectively compared to traditional sampling methods like liquid biopsy, which often yield insufficient data for in-depth studies of the metastatic process.
Existing cancer cell studies rely on blood samples containing circulating tumor cells, but isolating enough clusters for detailed analysis is challenging. SHArD provides a solution by allowing researchers to culture tumor cell clusters on a highly tunable platform. This new tool enables the study of primary and metastatic cancer cells traveling in groups, providing insights that were previously difficult to obtain. By creating nanorod layers of halloysite and zinc oxide, the King lab at Rice University has developed a groundbreaking technique for culturing cancer cell clusters.
The SHArD system, originally designed for culturing primary tumor models, has proven to be versatile and adaptable for culturing metastatic clusters as well. By recreating the lotus leaf structure on a nanoscale surface, researchers have achieved superhydrophobicity, allowing for the growth of spheroidal models of primary tumors. The microwell grid with perfectly sized compartments enhances the performance of SHArD, making it a valuable tool for biomedical research. Researchers can easily follow the protocols to create customized versions of SHArD that suit the specific needs of their research projects.
The development of SHArD opens up new avenues for research into cancer clusters found in the bloodstream of late-stage cancer patients. By providing a highly tunable and adaptable platform for culturing primary and metastatic tumor models, SHArD offers a significant advancement in cancer modeling technology. With the ability to culture tumor cell clusters with precision and efficiency, researchers can gain valuable insights into the behavior of cancer cells during metastasis and develop interventions to prevent the spread of the disease. The innovative approach inspired by the lotus leaf’s natural properties has the potential to revolutionize cancer research and improve our understanding of tumor biology.
