A new gelling molecule for growing neurons in 3D

A multidisciplinary team of researchers from CNRS, INSERM and Université Toulouse III – Paul Sabatier has developed a hydrogel that can grow, develop and differentiate neural stem cells. This biomaterial could provide new paths for the development of in vitro cellular models of brain tissue or of in vivo tissue reconstruction. This work is published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces on May 14, 2018. Although we know how to culture cells on a two-dimensional surface, that is not representative of the actual cell environment in a live organism. In brain tissue, cells are organized and interact in three dimensions in a soft structure. The researchers' main goal was to imitate this tissue as closely as possible. They developed a hydrogel that meets suitable criteria for permeability, rigidity and biocompatibility; on that, they cultured human neural stem cells¹.