Three-dimensional polymeric systems for cancer cells studies

The present research activity is aimed at the development of 3D culture of pancreatic cancer cells in microstructured polymer matrices in order to gain insights in the regulation of pancreatic cancer cell proliferation as well as in the view of developing an in vitro model for the evaluation of novel anticancer drugs. The research activity will be performed under a multidisciplinary approach and all the described objectives will be part of three chapters that constitute the body of this work: 1) Three-dimensional polyelectrolyte complexes hydrogels based on chitosan and poly(γ-glutamic acid): preparation and physical-chemical characterization 2) Biocompatibility assessment of polyelectrolyte complexes hydrogels 3)Modeling of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma in vitro with three-dimensional microstructured polyelectrolyte complexes hydrogels