**Cell Culturing Techniques**

Finally, I would like to acknowledge all the authors who contributed with their valid chap‐ ters in this book. My special thanks and appreciation go to Ms. Kristina Kardum, Author Service Manager at IntechOpen, the world's leading publisher of Open Access books, built

> **Radwa Mehanna** Faculty of Medicine Alexandria University Alexandria, Egypt

by scientists, for scientists.

VIII Preface

**Chapter 1**

**Provisional chapter**

**2D vs. 3D Cell Culture Models for** *In Vitro* **Topical**

**2D vs. 3D Cell Culture Models for** *In Vitro* **Topical** 

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.79868

Due to ethical concerns regarding animal testing, alternative methods have been in development to test the efficacy and safety of pharmaceutical products and medications, specifically topical (dermatological) medications. Two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) skin cell cultures are examples of *in vitro* methods used as an alternative to animal testing. The first skin cells cultured were keratinocytes, a type of cell predominantly in the epidermal layer of the skin. However, with differences in skin characteristics and pathophysiology of different skin conditions, various skin cell cultures and models to better mimic these differences have been developed. These cell cultures include not only keratinocytes but also other skin cell types, such as fibroblasts, which are predominantly in the dermal layer of the skin, and certain immune cells and even melanocytes. To have a better understanding of the type of cell cultures used for testing dermatological products, this chapter aims to outline the differences between 2D and 3D skin cell cultures while considering the advantages and disadvantages of each culture. Different types of cell culture models used for wound healing and for inflammatory skin conditions such as

**Keywords:** cell culture, 2D cell culture, 3D cell culture, skin cell culture, *in vitro*, topical,

The growth of cells in an environment outside of an organism's body is referred to as a cell culture [1, 2]. Cells obtained from human tissues are often used for cell cultures to mimic the physiological and metabolic functions of humans for *in vitro* studies [3]. Cell cultures are

> © 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use,

distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

**(Dermatological) Medication Testing**

**(Dermatological) Medication Testing**

Arezou Teimouri, Pollen Yeung and Remigius Agu

Arezou Teimouri, Pollen Yeung and Remigius Agu

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.79868

psoriasis will also be discussed.

dermatological, wound healing, psoriasis

**Abstract**

**1. Introduction**

#### **2D vs. 3D Cell Culture Models for** *In Vitro* **Topical (Dermatological) Medication Testing 2D vs. 3D Cell Culture Models for** *In Vitro* **Topical (Dermatological) Medication Testing**

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.79868

Arezou Teimouri, Pollen Yeung and Remigius Agu Arezou Teimouri, Pollen Yeung and Remigius Agu

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.79868

#### **Abstract**

Due to ethical concerns regarding animal testing, alternative methods have been in development to test the efficacy and safety of pharmaceutical products and medications, specifically topical (dermatological) medications. Two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) skin cell cultures are examples of *in vitro* methods used as an alternative to animal testing. The first skin cells cultured were keratinocytes, a type of cell predominantly in the epidermal layer of the skin. However, with differences in skin characteristics and pathophysiology of different skin conditions, various skin cell cultures and models to better mimic these differences have been developed. These cell cultures include not only keratinocytes but also other skin cell types, such as fibroblasts, which are predominantly in the dermal layer of the skin, and certain immune cells and even melanocytes. To have a better understanding of the type of cell cultures used for testing dermatological products, this chapter aims to outline the differences between 2D and 3D skin cell cultures while considering the advantages and disadvantages of each culture. Different types of cell culture models used for wound healing and for inflammatory skin conditions such as psoriasis will also be discussed.

**Keywords:** cell culture, 2D cell culture, 3D cell culture, skin cell culture, *in vitro*, topical, dermatological, wound healing, psoriasis
