Tumour Spheroids & 3D Cancer Models
Multicellular tumour spheroids and 3D cancer constructs, where the plasticware and the cell lines are publicly priced and the finished model is not.
| Category | Ready-to-Use 3D Tissue Models |
|---|---|
| Unit | One plate of tumour spheroids at the specified well count and spheroid diameter, or the priced components for self-assembly |
| Lead time | 1-3 weeks for lines and plasticware from catalogue stock; a released, size-specified spheroid plate is a quoted development programme with no published turnaround |
| Pricing | By quotation |
| Provenance | Partner manufactured |
| Data current | 2026-09-03 |
Description
A multicellular tumour spheroid reintroduces the two things a monolayer removes and that most oncology compounds actually have to deal with: a diffusion gradient producing a hypoxic, quiescent core, and cell-cell contact that changes drug sensitivity outright. That is the entire reason the format exists, and it is also why the format is difficult to buy rather than build. This category has an unusual shape. Every physical input carries a live public price. Immortalised cancer lines are catalogue items at a flat published rate, microwell and hanging-drop plasticware designed specifically to produce size-uniform spheroids is publicly priced per plate, and microfluidic 3D culture chips that support an ECM-embedded tumour compartment are publicly priced per chip. What is not purchasable is a released plate of size-specified, viability-verified tumour spheroids of a named line, and still less a patient-derived one, patient-derived organoids carry a separate and heavier problem, because the dominant adult stem cell organoid technology is licensed apart from the material and the licence reaches the product, the medium, the method and every application, which is covered in the patient-derived organoid offering in this catalogue rather than repeated here. For immortalised-line work the honest recommendation is usually to assemble: the components are cheap relative to any custom programme, and the uniformity problem the vendor would otherwise solve for you is exactly what the microwell plasticware is engineered to solve. Wetware World's role is line selection and licensing check, plate geometry selection against the spheroid diameter the assay needs, and consolidating line, plate and medium onto one order.
Why this is hard to buy today
Spheroid diameter is the variable that determines whether a hypoxic core forms at all, and it is set by the microwell geometry chosen at purchase, not adjustable afterwards. The plasticware vendors publish microcavity diameters to the micrometre and the assay literature publishes the diameters at which gradients appear, but nothing connects the two at the point of sale, so groups routinely buy a plate that produces perfectly uniform spheroids too small to model the thing they bought spheroids to model.
Price evidence
No supplier surveyed sells a released plate of size-specified, viability-verified tumour spheroids at a published price, so this item is quote only and unpriced. Every component of the self-assembly route is verified and public, which is what makes a custom quote checkable. Cancer cell lines, ATCC live product pages observed 2026-09-01, all at a uniform published rate: HCT 116 colorectal carcinoma, catalogue CCL-247, $577.00; MDA-MB-231 breast adenocarcinoma, HTB-26, $577.00; HeLa, CCL-2, $577.00. Spheroid-forming plasticware, InSphero live Shopify products endpoint observed 2026-09-01: Akura 96 Spheroid Microplate CS-PB13 5-pack $355.00 ($71.00 per plate) and CS-PB15 20-pack $1,195.00 ($59.75 per plate, $0.62 per well); Akura 384 Spheroid Microplate CS-PC23 5-pack $688.00 and CS-PC24 10-pack $1,125.00 ($112.50 per plate); Gri3D Hydrogel Microcavity Plate at $660.00 plastic and $730.00 imaging, available at 400 micrometres (121 microcavities per well), 500 micrometres (73), 600 micrometres (55) and 800 micrometres (31); Akura PLUS Hanging Drop System CS-PF24 10-pack $2,015.00. Embryoid-body and spheroid devices, eNUVIO live store API observed 2026-09-01: EB-DISKs Embryoid Body Formation Devices $125.00. ECM-embedded 3D chips, AIM Biotech live store API observed 2026-09-01: idenTx 3 Chip DAX-1, box of 25 chips at 3 experiments per chip, $570.00, which is $22.80 per chip and $7.60 per experiment; idenTx 40 Plate IDTX40 box of 5 $2,220.00 ($444.00 per plate, $11.10 per chip); organiX Plate OGNXP-1EA $410.00; organiX Insert OGNXI box of 24 $420.00.
These are supplier list prices we located and recorded, not a quotation from Wetware World. Your price depends on quantity, specification and freight, and is only binding once issued in writing.
What you must specify
A quote cannot be produced without these. Anything you leave open, a supplier will assume, usually expensively.
| # | Parameter |
|---|---|
| 01 | Cell line or patient-derived source, and the licensing position attached to it |
| 02 | Target spheroid diameter, which decides the microwell geometry |
| 03 | Whether a hypoxic or quiescent core is required, and how it will be demonstrated |
| 04 | Monoculture versus co-culture with stromal, immune or endothelial cells |
| 05 | Matrix requirement, and whether a defined alternative to Matrigel is acceptable |
| 06 | Number of spheroids, plate format and replicate structure |
| 07 | Size uniformity acceptance criterion |
| 08 | Assay endpoint and imaging modality the format must survive |
| 09 | Intended use, academic or commercial, which decides the licence question |
Quality documentation
Typically available with this item. What actually ships is confirmed on the quotation, per supplier.
- Supplier certificate of analysis for the cell line
- STR identity authentication of the line, which is not optional for cancer lines
- Spheroid size and uniformity specification where a finished plate is contracted
- Viability at release
- Mycoplasma and sterility per supplier release testing
Candidate suppliers
Organisations we have identified as capable. Listing does not imply a partnership, an endorsement, or that they have agreed to quote.
| Organisation | Basis for inclusion |
|---|---|
| ATCC | Live product pages fetched 2026-09-01. HCT 116 (CCL-247), MDA-MB-231 (HTB-26) and HeLa (CCL-2) each return the same published USD price on the page and in the embedded product data. Line supply only; ATCC sells no finished spheroid. |
| InSphero | Public Shopify products endpoint queried live 2026-09-01. Akura 96 and Akura 384 spheroid microplates, Gri3D hydrogel microcavity plates in four microcavity diameters, and the Akura PLUS hanging drop system all return live USD prices and SKUs. The ready-to-use priced microtissue lines are liver; no tumour spheroid product is priced. |
| AIM Biotech | Public WooCommerce Store API queried live 2026-09-01 returning live USD list prices and SKUs for idenTx and organiX ECM-patterned 3D culture chips and plates. General-purpose consumables; no tumour model is sold as a product. |
| eNUVIO | Public WooCommerce Store API queried live 2026-09-01. EB-DISKs embryoid body formation devices return a live USD price; the EB-CLARIFY All-in-One Spheroid Microplate and EB-PLATE return zero on the store API, which on this storefront denotes a quote-only item rather than a free product. |
| Crown Bioscience | Organoid screening service across 14 cancer types as a HUB protocol licensee. The deliverable is a screening result rather than a model, and no price is published. |
Sources
doc WW-TM-90207 · rev 2026-09-03 · research use only · prices indicative and not binding until quoted in writing