A Standardised 3D Cell Culture System for Developing Imaging and Spectroscopy Techniques

In this thesis, a dermal 3D cell culture model was developed to study light-matter interactions in microscopy, using human fibroblast cells (BJ5ta) embedded in collagen or gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA). The feasibility of endoscopy tools for monitoring cells in living 3D systems was investigated using confocal endomicroscopy, FT-NIR endospectroscopy and Raman endospectroscopy. The model was then extended to study fibrosis, using TGF-β1, and compared against human cirrhotic liver tissue biopsies. Finally, the model was adapted to study how the thermal lens generation affects mechanical contrast in photothermal microscopy. This thesis contributed to advancing the understanding of light-matter interactions that occur when imaging complex 3D cell culture models.