Processing cellular spheroids for histological examination

Cellular spheroids are three-dimensional cell cultures that mimic native tissues and produce their own extracellular matrix. Spheroids are being used in research for basic science, developmental biology, cancer biology, tissue engineering, drug discovery, and toxicity testing. As spheroids become increasingly used in these applications, it is critical to understand and visualize cells and extracellular matrix content over time. Standard histological methods cannot be applied for fixation and processing of spheroids due to their small size and delicate nature. Given this, there is a need to develop a method to prepare and process spheroids for histological sectioning and examination. A technique was developed for preparing spheroids and tissues composed of spheroids for histological examination, using cellular spheroids for tissue engineering applications.