Microdomes: Micro-engineered Microdome arrays enable standardised and shear-free 3D biology with full-spectrum optical imaging compatibility

Developing three-dimensional cellular models, like organoids and spheroids, offers great potential for understanding development, disease, and personalized medicine. However, scaling up production and analysis faces challenges due to shear stress from handling, fragile samples, and difficulty integrating advanced imaging techniques.

To address these issues, researchers have created Microdomes - dense arrays of dome-shaped, open-top microcavities. Each cavity houses a single specimen within its own mini-aquarium, which can be accessed through a small opening for introducing cells, media, matrices, and staining agents. The apical opening shields the specimen from shear forces during routine pipetting.

A single Microdomes chip can hold over 100 spheroids or organoids, accommodating various cell types, co-culture formats, and both matrix-free and matrix-embedded cultures. Crucially, all specimens remain stable throughout culture, medium exchanges, fixation, and immunostaining due to their fixed, addressable positions on a thin transparent film.

This stability enables specimens to be relocated and re-imaged repeatedly over weeks and across different microscopes, from broad array views to subcellular details, without any disturbance. Furthermore, Microdomes facilitate AI-based automated segmentation, ranging from whole-spheroid outlines to individual nuclei in 3D, using standard image analysis software.

By turning each array into a self-contained quality control unit, Microdomes deliver specimen-level traceability, a feature currently lacking in organoid production pipelines.