The overall goal of the project is to establish new innovative routes for design and control of 4D cell growth. A 3D cell culture is an artificially-created environment in which biological cells are permitted to grow or interact with their surroundings in all three dimensions. Unlike 2D environments (e.g. a petri dish), a 3D cell culture allows cells in vitro to grow in all directions, similar to how they would in vivo. The 4th dimension is the development of the optimal time dependent cell growth.
The project aims at making novel scaffolds for 4D cell growth employing self-assembly of natural materials like microfibrillar cellulose and clay using electric and magnetic fields as well as microwaves.