The concept of growing tissues outside their natural system in an artificially created microenvironment is known as tissue culturing. It is a common tool for developing model systems that are useful for studying the basic human molecular and cell biology metabolisms. Cell culturing was first initiated in flat plastic or glass dishes as 2D cell culturing. Since then, all the tissue engineering, stem cell, molecular biology work is being carried out on the widely popular petri dishes. However, there are several limitations associated with 2D cell culture that hamper the morphology, growth rate, cell function, viability and the overall behaviour of the cell as compared to the natural environment. As a result, 2D cell culture is not efficient for studying complex molecular metabolisms.

To carry out studies in vitro, cells have to be supplemented with an environment that is a close replica of the natural environment. This can be accomplished by using 3D cell cultures which are physiologically more relevant as compared to the 2D cell cultures. Cells in a 3D culture form natural cell to cell interactions and synthesize extracellular material as they do in in vivo. These cells exert forces on each other, moving and migrating as they do in natural environment. In addition, the interactions between them include gap junctions that facilitate exchange of ions, electrical currents and small molecules enhancing the signalling and communication between them. Such a close representation of the natural system in vitro gives insights about the behaviour of the cell when stimulated with a potential drug or a chemical.

Presently, there are several scaffold-based and scaffold-free 3D systems in the market that are widely being used for the purpose of research in a variety of application areas. Although 2D cultures are still more prominent, the encouraging results of 3D cultures have motivated researchers across the world to gradually transition to 3D cultures systems.

SCOPE OF THE REPORT
The '3D Cell Culture Market, 2015-2025' report provides an extensive study on the marketed 3D cell culture systems and those under development. There are a number of 3D cell culture systems that are already commercially available. However, these systems are primarily being used in a variety of research applications; therapeutic applications are still being explored. In addition, there are several promising 3D culture systems which are currently being developed worldwide; the approach is likely to result in many commercial success stories in the foreseen future. The report covers various aspects, such as, key players in the industry, 3D culture products in various biomedical applications and upcoming opportunities for several stakeholders.

As pharmaceutical companies continue to expand their research programs in this area, one of the key objectives outlined for this report is to understand the current and future potential of the market. This is done by analysing current trends in the wider cell culture market and the specific parameters which are likely to influence evolution of 3D cultures during the same time period. In addition, we have provided our outlook on the sub-market evolution of 3D culture instruments, 3D culture related consumables, 3D culture services and other biomaterials. We have also reviewed, in detail, the likely contribution to be made by different applications areas such as cancer research, drug and toxicity screening, stem cell research and regenerative medicines. The report also provides a snapshot of the likely evolution of the market across key geographies (US, EU and Asia).

To address the uncertainties in the market, we have provided three market forecast scenarios for the time period 2015 - 2025. The conservative, base and optimistic scenarios represent three different tracks of industry evolution. Our opinions and insights, presented in this study, were influenced by the discussions that we conducted with experts in this area. All actual figures have been sourced and analysed from publicly available information and discussions with industry experts. The figures mentioned in this report are in USD, unless otherwise specified.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Most of the data presented in this report has been gathered via secondary and primary research. For all our projects, we conduct interviews with experts in the area (academia, industry, medical practice and other associations) to solicit their opinions on emerging trends in the market. This is primarily useful for us to draw out our own opinion on how the market will evolve across different regions and technology segments. Where possible, the available data has been checked for accuracy from multiple sources of information.

The secondary sources of information include
- Annual reports
- Investor presentations
- SEC filings
- Industry databases
- News releases from company websites
- Government policy documents
- Industry analysts' views

While the focus has been on forecasting the market over the coming ten years, the report also provides our independent view on various technological and non-commercial trends emerging in the industry. This opinion is solely based on our knowledge, research and understanding of the relevant market gathered from various secondary and primary sources of information.

CHAPTER OUTLINES
Chapter 2 provides an executive summary of the insights captured in our research. The summary offers a high level view on where the 3D culture market is headed in the mid to long term.

Chapter 3 provides a general introduction to the 3D culture systems. In this section, we have briefly discussed the different types of cell cultures, conventional methods of cell culturing and various application domains. The chapter outlines a comparative analysis of 2D versus 3D cultures, focussing on the need and the advantages of 3D culture systems.

Chapter 4 gives an overview of the classification of 3D culture systems. It highlights the different approaches under the two broad categories of scaffold-based and scaffold-free 3D culture systems. We have discussed, in detail, the underlying concept, advantages and disadvantages of each sub-category of the two aforementioned strategies.

Chapter 5 summarises the different techniques deployed to fabricate various 3D matrices. It talks about the principle, merits and demerits associated with these methods. It also covers the key takeaways of several research studies carried out using these matrices.

Chapter 6 provides a comprehensive list of 3D culture systems. The list includes information on the 3D culture types and their respective sub-categories. We have also mapped the geographical presence of 3D culture systems. In addition, the chapter talks about other companies which provide 3D related services and associated consumables.

Chapter 7 provides applications of 3D culture systems in the field of cancer research. In addition, the chapter provides a holistic view on the various 3D culture products that have a key role to play in this domain.

Chapter 8 highlights the applications of 3D cultures in drug and toxicity screening. It elaborates on the liver models that can be utilised in toxicity and drug screening studies. The chapter also provides details on the 3D culture systems that have been deployed for this application.

Chapter 9 provides an overview of the 3D culture systems in the field of stem cell research. It highlights the scope of 3D culture approach in embryoid body formation and organogenesis. The chapter enlists and provides details of the 3D culture systems that have been used for the purpose of stem cell research.

Chapter 10 presents the detailed forecast for the 3D culture market segmented by type of 3D components, type of 3D system, type of applications and key geographies. Due to the uncertain nature of the market, we have presented three different growth tracks outlined as conservative, base and optimistic scenarios.
Chapter 11 provides detailed company profiles of the leading players in the market. Each company profile includes information such as financial performance, product portfolio, recent collaborations and future outlook.

Chapter 12 summarises the overall report. In this chapter, we provide a recap of the key takeaways and our independent opinion based on the research and analysis described in previous chapters.

Chapter 13 is a collection of interview transcript(s) of the discussions which were held during the course of this study.

Chapter 14 is an appendix which provides tabulated data and numbers for all the figures provided in the report.

Chapter 15 is an appendix which provides the list of companies mentioned in the report

EXAMPLE HIGHLIGHTS
1. With a highly extensive classification, we have identified close to 150 3D culture systems. Of the two broad categories of scaffold-based and scaffold-free systems, scaffold-based systems are more popular, representing 76% of the 3D culture systems.