A 3D High Throughput Screening Platform for Cancer Drug Discovery

The discovery of clinically relevant drugs for cancer requires a representative in vitro model of tumors that can be used to screen drug compounds. 2D monolayers of human cancer cells have conventionally been used as in vitro models for screening the efficacy of cancer drugs. Such models are simplistic, do not represent the actual complexity of in vivo tumors and often overestimate the therapeutic efficacy of a drug candidate. A large number of studies have now established that 3D models of tumors are better suited as primary drug screens for cancer therapeutics. Multicellular tumor spheroids (MCTS) are the most widely studied and best established 3D models of tumor. However, producing MCTS of uniform size and morphology requires time and labor intensive procedures. This makes their use in primary screening assays difficult, especially when a large pool of compounds needs to be tested. We discuss the development of a rapid, economical and efficient high throughput screening platform, SIPS Chip, for the screening of anti-cancer drugs. Primary anticancer drug screening will benefit significantly from 3D models that are obtained rapidly, with minimal labor intensive techniques, are reproducible, and resemble in vivo tumor growth.