Authors: Ana Maria P. Pardo, Katherine Strathearn Ph.D., Nicolas Andre Ph.D. – Corning Life Sciences
Terry Riss, Ph.D., Promega Corporation
Three dimensional (3D) cultures are recognized as more physiologically relevant models since they provide a more accurate reflection of the intricate microenvironment of in vivo tumor models1. However, adoption in high-throughput screening (HTS) platforms has been slow due to the limitations of the current technol¬ogies. Problems include increased variability, low-throughput and automation issues.2 Corning’s new Spheroid Microplates combine Corning’s Ultra Low Attachment surface and an innovative well geometry to provide an ideal tool for generating, culturing and assaying 3D multicellular spheroids in the same plate without the need for a transfer step. Another issue limiting adoption of HTS spheroid assays is the inability of reagents to penetrate the multiple layers of 3D spheroids, leading to inaccurate data collection3 . Promega’s new CellTiter-Glo® 3D Cell Viability Assay is a ready-to-use, one-step reagent specially formulated for improved cell lysis and extraction of ATP. The assay measures ATP to quantify viable cells making it ideal for cell proliferation and cytotoxicity assay screening. In this study we demonstrated the ease of generating reliable, quantifiable data for high-throughput screening assays from multicellular spheroid tumor models using Corning’s Spheroid Microplates and Promega’s CellTiter-Glo® 3D Cell Viability Assay.

1. F. Pampaloni, et al., The third dimension bridges the gap between cell culture and live tissue. Nat. Rev. Mol. Cell Biol. 8(10), 839–845 (2007).
2. I. Vinci, et al., Advances in Establishment and Analysis of Three Dimensional Tumor Spheroid-Based Functional Assays for Target Validation and Drug Evaluation. BMC Biology 10:29 (2012).
3. G. Mehta, et al., Opportunities and challenges for use of tumor spheroids as models to test drug delivery and efficacy, J. Control. Release (2012), doi:10.1016/j.jconrel.2012.04.045