000170986 001__ 170986
000170986 005__ 20260430151736.0
000170986 0247_ $$2doi$$a10.1002/smsc.202500567
000170986 0248_ $$2sideral$$a149050
000170986 037__ $$aART-2026-149050
000170986 041__ $$aeng
000170986 100__ $$0(orcid)0000-0003-3661-7718$$aGuerrero-López, Paula$$uUniversidad de Zaragoza
000170986 245__ $$aUltrastructural study of microphysiological systems of the tumor microenvironment
000170986 260__ $$c2026
000170986 5060_ $$aAccess copy available to the general public$$fUnrestricted
000170986 5203_ $$aThe importance of studying the ultrastructure is underwritten by decades of research. Ultrastructural features help to understand pathological processes or inform disease diagnosis. However, ultrastructural studies in the promising cancer‐on‐a‐chip models are practically nonexistent because of the complexity of sample preparation for electron microscopy techniques, which is particularly aggravated with these miniaturized models. Our aim was to study ultrastructural features of microphysiological systems (MPS) of the tumor microenvironment consisting of 3D multicellular tumor structures that were grown in hydrogel‐based cancer‐on‐a‐chip models. To this end, we selected two different MPS from our lab as examples and devised a sample preparation technique for their observation under dual‐beam focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy (FIB‐SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The proposed methodology allowed high‐resolution visualization of both external and internal organization of 3D multicellular tumor structures, including cell–matrix interactions, cell–cell junctions, spheroid–spheroid contacts, matrix deposition, and extracellular vesicle‐mediated intercellular communication. This study demonstrates the feasibility of using advanced electron microscopy techniques to observe ultrastructural features of miniaturized cancer models, thus revealing a new dimension in the use of these models to study tumor processes and find new therapeutic targets.
000170986 536__ $$9info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020/101018587/EU/Individual and Collective Migration of the Immune Cellular System/ICoMICS$$9This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No H2020 101018587-ICoMICS$$9info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN/RYC2021-033490-I$$9info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/UZ/LMA-ELECMI ICTS
000170986 540__ $$9info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess$$aby$$uhttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.es
000170986 655_4 $$ainfo:eu-repo/semantics/article$$vinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
000170986 700__ $$aPele, Karinna Georgiana$$uUniversidad de Zaragoza
000170986 700__ $$aBarrado, Mariano$$uUniversidad de Zaragoza
000170986 700__ $$0(orcid)0000-0003-1958-4432$$aAlamán-Díez, Pilar$$uUniversidad de Zaragoza
000170986 700__ $$0(orcid)0000-0002-9864-7683$$aGarcía-Aznar, José Manuel$$uUniversidad de Zaragoza
000170986 700__ $$0(orcid)0000-0001-7062-9099$$aGarcía-Gareta, Elena$$uUniversidad de Zaragoza
000170986 7102_ $$10$$2X$$aUniversidad de Zaragoza$$bInstitutos Univ. de Investig.$$cÁrea RPT Laboral INMA
000170986 7102_ $$11002$$2060$$aUniversidad de Zaragoza$$bDpto. Bioq.Biolog.Mol. Celular$$cÁrea Bioquímica y Biolog.Mole.
000170986 7102_ $$15004$$2605$$aUniversidad de Zaragoza$$bDpto. Ingeniería Mecánica$$cÁrea Mec.Med.Cont. y Teor.Est.
000170986 7102_ $$15001$$2065$$aUniversidad de Zaragoza$$bDpto. Ciencia Tecnol.Mater.Fl.$$cÁrea Cienc.Mater. Ingen.Metal.
000170986 773__ $$g6, 4 (2026), [16 pp.]$$tSmall Science$$x2688-4046
000170986 8564_ $$s9912724$$uhttps://zaguan.unizar.es/record/170986/files/texto_completo.pdf$$yVersión publicada
000170986 8564_ $$s2404174$$uhttps://zaguan.unizar.es/record/170986/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon$$xicon$$yVersión publicada
000170986 909CO $$ooai:zaguan.unizar.es:170986$$particulos$$pdriver
000170986 951__ $$a2026-04-30-13:58:29
000170986 980__ $$aARTICLE