USES OF CELLULAR MICROENVIRONMENTS AND STUDYING EFFECTIVNESS OF ANTI- CANCER DRUGS By Jared Man and Ben Roadarmel

MICROENVIRONMENTS Cells interacting Create in vivo conditions Various signals Cells contribute their own effects React to outside forces Adjust to different cues Recreate portions of living organisms Can be studied and tested

CREATION OF CELLULAR MICROENVIRONMENTS Cells use adhesion Connected through cellular signaling machinery Cells send messages to other cells Use proteins to build and repair

APPLICATIONS Drug testing Skin grafts Tumor studies Comparison to contemporary ways

THE TUMOR MICROENVIRONMENT Cancer cells disrupt the efficient delivery of blood This causes cells that resort to lactic acid fermentation and increases acidity This causes an inefficient distribution and decreased effectiveness of chemotherapeutic drugs

THE TUMOR MICROENVIRONMENT The only way to ensure tumor destruction is with large doses of powerful chemotherapeutic drugs Serious side effects occur as a result Using nanocapsules as a delivery system for the drugs may subside these side effects

NANOCAPSULES A nanoparticle could be used to encapsulate a particular drug This particle could then be designed to release its contents only in the presence of disrupted blood vessels This would facilitate efficient delivery of the drugs only to the affected area and not to any healthy cells This method of delivery could reduce the toxicity of cancer treatment which increase patient survivability

TESTING NANOCAPSULES Currently many kinds of drugs are being studied with nanocarriers Many of these test are done using in vitro methods The ability to grow complex three dimensional cellular structures is crucial to these studies Given that cancer is the leading cause of death around the world, the ability to test quickly could save millions of lives

TESTING NANOCAPSULES In vitro testing has provide valuable information to advance cancer treatment However, inconsistencies between preclinical studies and clinical trials still exist These inconsistencies can be attributed to oversimplification of the tumor microenvironment

TESTING NANOCAPSULES In the future, more complex three dimensional cultures must be produced to provide more applicable results

SKIN GRAFTS Creation of artificial replacement tissue Uses in vitro cultured cells to generate functional tissues Occur after severe trauma to the skin Prevents extensive scar tissue

DNA REPLICATION Enzymes allow sections of DNA to be cut from microenvironments Polymerase Chain Reaction Study DNA mutations Paternity tests Genetic disorders

IN VITRO PROCESSES Spermatozoa and egg result in an embryo In vitro diagnostics Test for certain diseases Report clinical status of patients

BENEFITS OF CELLULAR MICROENVIRONMENT TESTING Toxicity testing Cost-effective Fast No fear of harming people or animals Study portions of humans

ECONOMICS AND COST EFFICIENCY Cells can reproduce Simple to create Testing many drugs at once saves time No shortage of cancer cells

SUSTAINABILITY In vitro testing is time efficient Cost effective Environmentally friendly Places no risk on human or animal subjects Easily reproducible

POTENTIAL PITFALLS May not successfully mimic in vivo conditions Contaminated by outside forces Difficult to control internal temperatures Can be mishandled No emotional response to treatments Microfabrication technologies

CONCLUSION There are many benefits to in vitro testing It could help create new ways to treat cancer It could be used to grow replacement organs It could even end world hunger While it is not that developed yet, it is an innovation worth furthering