The University of Vienna, Medical University of Vienna, and Technical University of Vienna, in collaboration with DOC Medical, have developed a 3D cell culture bioanalysis testing system for testing radioactive candidate drugs for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. It does not require any animal experiments to achieve automated, fast, and high-precision analysis. This new method is detailed in the latest issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine. New drugs and diagnostic methods should be safe and ideally available quickly, but due to the need for significant resources, especially in the preclinical testing phase, progress can often be slowed down. The development of radioactive tracers allows for the visualization of physiological and pathological processes in the body, which can be used for cancer diagnosis. However, this time-consuming and costly testing is often based on animal experiments, which is not only ethically controversial, but also often provides results that cannot be applied to humans. The research team has developed a biological analysis testing system this time. This system uses human cells on silk substrate to test active ingredients under real conditions, which is faster, more accurate, and does not require animal testing. This method combines chromatographic principles with dynamic 3D cell culture, with the core being a fixed phase made of biocompatible silk fibroin sponge serving as an artificial scaffold to fix human cells in a three-dimensional structure. A special pump system continuously provides nutrients to cells, simulating the real conditions in human tissue, while using imaging technology to observe the application of radiopharmaceuticals in real time. This makes it possible to evaluate the binding of radioactive tracers and cellular biochemical processes in parallel. The new system can accurately evaluate the binding characteristics, target accuracy, and possible side effects of the tested radioactive markers. The use of silk fibroin has significant advantages due to its radiation stability and mature applications in cell culture. Introducing sieve plates between sponges can reduce cell migration and improve the reproducibility of results, allowing for precise control of important factors such as radiation dose distribution and cellular nutrient supply. The new method conforms to the 3R principle (reduce, optimize, replace), or can significantly reduce animal testing, accelerate the development of radiopharmaceuticals, and minimize personnel radiation exposure. This groundbreaking technology can set new standards for preclinical radiopharmaceuticals to achieve more sustainable and efficient drug development. This is a revolutionary drug testing and disease diagnosis method that can revolutionize the entire process from drug development to clinical application. This time, researchers have developed a biomolecule testing system that uses human cells on silk substrates to test under real conditions. It does not require animal experiments, and the results can even be more reliable than animal experiments, as the drug itself is tested in a simulated human microenvironment. The new technology can not only save tens of thousands of experimental animals, but also accelerate the development process of new drugs that have been widely considered to have high failure rates and lengthy processes, or promote the iterative upgrading of the radiopharmaceutical market. (New Society)