Contact Us

Organoids and 3D Cell Culture

One of the most exciting recent advancements in life science research is the development of 3D cell culture systems, such as organoids, spheroids, or organ-on-a-chip models. A 3D cell culture is an artificial environment in which cells are able to grow and interact with their surroundings in all 3 dimensions. These conditions are similar to how they would be in vivo. Organoids are a type of 3D cell culture containing organ-specific cell types that can exhibit the spatial organization and replicate some functions of the organ.

Organoids recreate a highly physiologically relevant system that allows researchers to investigate complex, multidimensional questions, such as disease onset, tissue regeneration, and interactions between organs. Light microscopy is an essential approach to study the complex interactions and relations with organoids.

Leica imaging solutions support the study of these multifunctional samples with systems that allow deep and fast imaging for both endpoint measurements or studying the dynamics with live cell imaging.

Simply get in touch!

Our experts on solutions for Organoids and 3D Cell Culture are happy to help you with their advice.

THUNDER Imager 3D Cell Culture
THUNDER Imager 3D Cell Culture

Optimized efficiency for imaging 3D models

Leica Microsystems has developed a number of possibilities that deliver higher performance for the imaging of organoids and other 3D cell culture models.

From traditional methods, such as widefield or confocal microscopy, to more advanced imaging methods, such as multiphoton imaging or LightSheet, Leica Microsystems makes it possible to visualize fine cellular details as well as overall tissue architecture within your 3D cell cultures.

Leica Microsystems offers several solutions for simpler, faster, easier imaging of your 3D cell cultures.

Overcoming challenges in organoid imaging

Imaging is a crucial technique for the study of 3D cell cultures, such as organoids and spheroids.

Effective imaging of organoids poses a new set of challenges as they comprise large volumes. Organoids can be fixed, immunolabeled, and studied using clearing techniques to enable the visualization of their 3D structure. Usually these studies are done using confocal microscopes, as imaging of cultures with more than 2-3 cell layers can be challenging for widefield systems, which have an inherent blur that masks the signal of interest.

Organoids can also be used to study dynamic processes. The study of live organoids faces typical imaging problems, such as phototoxicity and low signal-to-noise ratios, especially when imaging deep in the sample. Recently, fast acquisition microscopy methods, such as FLIM or Lightsheet, have been favored for the study of live organoids as they can be used without altering the physiology of the specimens.

Mouse lung organoids derived from alveola stem and progenitor cells. Sample courtesy Dr. Pumaree Kanrai, MPI for Heart and Lung Research, Bad Nauheim (Germany).
Mouse lung organoids derived from alveola stem and progenitor cells. Sample courtesy Dr. Pumaree Kanrai, MPI for Heart and Lung Research, Bad Nauheim (Germany).

Related Articles

Read our latest articles about Organoids and 3D Cell Culture

The knowledge portal of Leica Microsystems offers scientific research and teaching material on the subjects of microscopy. The content is designed to support beginners, experienced practitioners and scientists alike in their everyday work and experiments.

More Articles

Extended depth of field reconstruction image of a whole human pancreas islet showing fluorescence signals from insulin (green), glucagon (red), an IL17 cytokine (magenta), and nuclei (blue).

Understanding Better the Onset of Diabetes

This article shows how Interleukin-17 (IL-17) proinflammatory cytokine proteins in human pancreatic islets can be studied efficiently with a THUNDER Imager.

Harnessing Microfluidics to Maintain Cell Health During Live-Cell Imaging

VIDEO ON DEMAND - In this episode of MicaCam, we will use microfluidics to explore the effect of shear stress on cell morphology, examine the effect of nutrient replenishment on cellular growth during…

Effects of Clearing Media on Tissue Transparency and Shrinkage

This study comprehensively evaluates the effects of different clearing media on tissue transparency and shrinkage by comparing freshly dissected dipteran fly brains with their cleared equivalents.…

Fluorescence Lifetime-based Imaging Gallery

Confocal microscopy relies on the effective excitation of fluorescence probes and the efficient collection of photons emitted from the fluorescence process. One aspect of fluorescence is the emission…
3D reconstruction of an intact 6 × 3 × 1.5 mm testis sample from a SMMHC-CreERT2 x Ai14D mouse after tissue clearing.

Analyzing Structural and Functional Testicular Anatomy

Fleck, Kenzler et al. have shown that, in mice, muscle-like cells are located within the walls of seminiferous tubules. Using CLARITY and a Leica digital light-sheet (DLS) microscope, Fleck, Kenzler…
Images of a brain organoid derived from iPSCs acquired with a THUNDER Imager 3D Cell Culture. The cells were infected with the pAAV-hSyn-EGFP and pLX-hGFAP-mCherry virus. The image is the 36th plane cropped out of a 53 plane Z-stack volume. Shown are both the A) raw widefield image and B) the same image after Large Volume Computation Clearing (LVCC). Neurons are labeled in green and astrocytes in red.

“Brains-In-A-Dish” from Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs)

This article discusses the benefits of using the THUNDER technology for imaging inside 3D human cortical brain organoids. These organoids are derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs)…
Electroporated nerve cells (green), specific neuronal markers (magenta) and cell nuclei (white), computational cleared.

Into the Third Dimension with "Wow Effect"- Observe Cells in 3D and Real-Time

Life is fast, especially for a cell. As a rule, cells should be examined under physiological conditions which are as close as possible to their natural environment. New technologies offer tremendous…
Lung organoid taken at the "liquid-air interface" with a THUNDER Imager 3D Cell Culture. The cells originate from transgenic mice, so that the different fluorescence represents the degree of differentiation of the respective cell (superposition). The image acquisition was performed on day 21 after the start of the culture. Reference: P. Kanrai, MPI-HLR Bad Nauheim.

Observing 3D Cell Cultures During Development

3D cell cultures, such as organoids and spheroids, give insights into cells and their interactions with their microenvironment. These 3D cell cultures are playing an increasingly important role for…
Single-cell Huh-7D12 spheroid imaged using a Leica SP8 DLS microscope system. The spheroid was clarified using the Sucrose protocol.

A Quality Metric for the Systematic Evaluation of Clearing Protocols

3D multicellular spheroids are of interest for studying tumor behavior and evaluating the response of pharmacologically active agents, because they mimic the in vivo tumor environment better than…
Mouse lymphnode acquired with a THUNDER Imager 3D Cell Culture. Image courtesy of Dr. Selina Keppler, Munich, Germany.

Image Gallery: THUNDER Imager

To help you answer important scientific questions, THUNDER Imagers eliminate the out-of-focus blur that clouds the view of thick samples when using camera-based fluorescence microscopes. They achieve…

Interested to know more?

Talk to our experts. We are happy to answer all your questions and concerns.

Contact Us

Do you prefer personal consulting? Show local contacts

You will find a more detailed list of local contacts here.
Scroll to top