Advancing glioblastoma research: A comparative study of drug response in novel 3D pHEMA-gelatin cryogel and traditional 2D models

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most abundant and malignant type of brain tumors. Investigating and understanding GBM biology is crucial for developing new treatments. This study aims to establish a novel 3D GBM cell culture model to investigate the drug response and comprehend GBM tumor biology. pHEMA-gelatin based cryogels are synthesized by varying cryogelation temperatures and gelatin concentrations to design a suitable scaffold. Characterization studies and in vitro cell studies show that all synthesized cryogels can be used as scaffolds for GBM, however pHEMA-gelatin-based cryogel synthesized at - 16 degrees C with 2% (w/w) gelatin concentration gave the highest cell viability test result with 221% in 3-day culture. The drug response assay is also performed by applying etoposide and temozolomide separately on GBM scaffolds by comparing 2D cultured cells. It is observed that GBM cells cultured on this cryogel exhibit greater resistance to drugs than 2D cultured cells.