Water-templated, Polysaccharide-rich, Bio-artificial 3D Microarchitectures as Extra-Cellular Matrix Bioautomatons.

This is the first report of exploiting "quasi-spherical" shape of water molecules for recapitulating a true human extra cellular matrix (ECM). Herein, water behaved as a quasi-spherical porogen, for engineering polysaccharide-rich and chemically defined, 3D-microarchitecture, with semi-interpenetrating networks (S-IPNs). Further, their viscoelastic behavior along with a heterogeneous, fibro-porous morphology, facilitated instructive, self-remodeling of the bio-artificial scaffolds, thence effectively permitting and promoting the growth of 3D tumor spheroids of divergent origins. The hybrid composites displayed reproducible, uniform tumor spheroids with a Z-depth of ~65+/- 2 m in case of human adenocarcinoma (DLD-1) and ~54 +/- 3m for human glioblastoma cells (U-251) (vs. non-uniform spheroids, on Agarose matrix). Thereafter, their capacity for anti-cancer drug screening was examined using limited cancer drugs. The conflicting drug screening results for Etoposide's reduced efficacy on glioblastoma cells cultured on our 3D matrix could be ascribed to decreased drug access and thus lower ingression. Nonetheless, adenocarcinoma's resistance to Camptothecin was paralleled. Moreover, their potential for real-time, high-content, phenotypic precision oncology was affirmed by the exceptional transparency of the synthesized composite. Since, this 3D microarchitecture typifies ECM bioautomaton; this matrix can also be wielded for precision oncology.