3D InSight™ Human Liver Microtissues:
Assay-Ready Liver Spheroids
Streamline your research with standardized, ready-to-use, primary cell-based 3D liver models in high-density culture format.
The Shift Toward Human-Relevant Liver Models:
Are You Ready?
Regulatory and funding bodies like the FDA and NIH are actively driving a significant shift toward human-relevant, innovative models over traditional models for drug and agrochemical safety assessment. As a result, the demand for 3D liver models that are physiologically relevant, scalable, and reproducible is greater than ever.
Yet for many labs, building physiologically relevant 3D liver spheroids remains a major bottleneck. In-house development requires significant time, resources, and expertise to validate cells, optimize culture conditions, and ensure consistent quality and performance. The result? Batch-to-batch variability, limited scalability, and delays that compromise both data reliability and translational outcomes.
Upgrade Your Research with Assay-Ready 3D Liver Microtissues
Skip the complexity, variability, and time investment of developing 3D liver models from scratch. Our assay-ready 3D InSight™ Human Liver Microtissues are pre-qualified, physiologically relevant, and ready to use out of the box, empowering your team to generate high-quality, human-relevant data from day one.
3D InSight™ Human Liver Microtissues (hLiMTs) are the industry’s only assay-ready solution featuring 96 uniform, pre-aggregated co-culture spheroids of primary human hepatocytes (PHH) from a 10-donor pool with non-parenchymal liver cells (NPCs) from a single donor, enabling you to capture broad human population response in your studies.
With up to 4 weeks of viability, they offer a scalable, automation-compatible, and ready-to-use solution that fits seamlessly into your laboratory, enabling flexible assay scheduling upon delivery and accelerating human-relevant insights.
Produced weekly using large donor cell lots under our standardized automated process and strict quality control, these high-density culture plates ensure minimal batch-to-batch variability and consistent results.
What makes our assay-ready human liver model the preferred choice
Physiologically Relevant. Better Predictions
Liver spheroids co-cultured with primary human hepatocytes (10-donor pool) and NPCs closely mimic liver physiology, delivering reliable, predictive results that reflect broad human population response.
Flexible for Your Workflow and Applications
With up to 4 weeks of viability and maintained functionality, our 3D liver models support flexible study designs and timelines- ready for diverse research needs upon delivery.
Global Shipping,
Faster Results
Delivered worldwide within 14 days of your order, our assay-ready 3D liver microtissues arrive with everything you need to start generating results from day one.
Instant 3D Upgrade. Reduce Cost & Time.
Skip the cost and complexity of building 3D liver models in-house. Our assay-ready microtissues integrate easily into your workflow, saving time and accelerating research.
Reproducible Results, Scaled to Your Needs
Standardized automated weekly production and pharma-grade QC deliver consistent spheroids and reproducible results - ideal for studies at any throughput.
Highly Cited. Versatile. Trusted by Industry Leaders.
3D InSight™ Human Liver Microtissues - The gold standard in Human-Relevant 3D in vitro models
Human Liver Microtissues produced in 2024
Drug Developers Adopted 3D InSight™ hLiMTs in 2024
Peer-Reviewed Publications
University collaborations in 2024
Where Long-term Functionality Meets Physiological Relevance
Human-Relevant Predictions with Broad Population Insight
Achieve more accurate predictions and gain meaningful insights into broad human population responses with our 3D InSight™ Human Liver Microtissues, a physiologically relevant in vitro co-culture of human primary hepatocytes pooled from 5 male and 5 female donors, combined with non-parenchymal liver cells from 1 donor, which includes but is not limited to Kupffer & endothelial cells.
Proven Viability and Phenotypic Stability
Extend your experimental timelines without compromising data quality. Our 3D InSight™ Human Liver Microtissues maintain high viability and consistent albumin secretion for up to 4 weeks, enabling reliable long-term and repeated-treatment studies adaptable to your needs.
Reliable Metabolic Activity for Long-term Studies
Conduct long-term functional assays confidently using 3D InSight™ Human Liver Microtissues, which maintain stable cytochrome P450 (CYP) activity for an extended period. This enables robust and accurate assessments in long-term liver safety, efficacy, drug metabolism, or pharmacokinetics studies.
Immunologically relevant for accurate predictions
Capture human-relevant immunological responses in your studies by using assay-ready 3D liver models that incorporate primary human Kupffer cells and liver-resident T cells with primary human hepatocytes, closely replicating the native liver microenvironment.
Accurate Results Start with Reproducible Model Production
Uniform Spheroids for Reliable, Scalable Output
Each well of the Akura™ 96 spheroid microplate contains a ready-to-use liver spheroid with consistent size and morphology. Our 3D Liver spheroid shows significant uniformity across high cell culture density plate format, making it ideal for multi-concentration treatment studies, throughput screening, and studies that demand scalability.
Pharma-grade QC for Consistent Results
Our streamlined weekly automated production process and rigorous pharma-grade quality control ensure consistent, uniform spheroids across batches. Using large cryopreserved cell lots ensures minimal batch-to-batch variability - so you can confidently plan long-term studies and repeat experiments, knowing you will generate the same high-quality, reproducible data every time.
In the figure, the bands represent median, 5% and 95% percentiles of the population. Specifications of the 3D InSight™ Human Liver Microtissues: Avg. diameter (200 - 300 µm), Avg. ATP content (>8pmol ATP/MT).
How it works
From order to experiment in under 14 days, our 3D liver microtissues arrive assay-ready to fast-track your research from day one.
Step 1
Order 3D InSight™ Human Liver Microtissues (Week 1)
Step 2
InSphero takes care of the production, QC (Week 2)
Step 3
InSphero ships your order in the InFloat™ system with medium (Week 3)
Step 4
Receive our liver microtissues at your doorstep (Within week 3)
Technical Specifications
Production & Quality Control
Deliverables
Technical Documents
Technical Specifications
- Primary human hepatocytes pooled from 5 males & 5 female donors
- Co-culture with non-parenchymal liver cells (1 donor), including but not limited to Kupffer cells and LECs
- Custom 3D liver models (monoculture, single donor, donor diversity including genetic, demography, ethnicity) are available on request
- Pre-aggregated 1 spheroid/ well in AkuraTM 96 spheroid microplate
- Cultured in 3D InSightTM Liver Maintenance Medium
- Guaranteed 4 weeks of functional viability & stability
- Size: Diameter between 200 – 300 μm
Production & Quality Control
- Large cell lot availability
- Robust pre-validation (Hepatic markers: Albumin, ASGR1, CK18, BSEP; Non-Parenchymal markers: CD68, CD31, Alpha-SMA)
- Long-term functional ATP, Albumin, CYP 450, IL-6 profiling
- Pharma-grade QC (Morphology & ATP production)
Deliverables
- Pre-aggregated assay ready 3D InSightTM Human Liver Model
- Optimized medium based on your needs (3D InSightTM Human Liver Maintenance Tox / AF / INF)
- Donor information, Quality of Assurance (QoA)
- Handling and culturing protocols
Technical Documents
- Product Manual - 3D InSight™ Assay-Ready Human Liver Microtissues
- Quick Start Guide - Handling 3D InSight™ Microtissues delivered in Akura™ 96 Plates
- Cell Lot Validation Guide
- Technical Protocol - 3D InSight™ Microtissues Handling in Akura™ 96 Plates
- FAQs 3D InSight™ Human Liver Microtissues
- How-to: Unpacking 3D InSight™ Microtissues delivered with InFloat™ Shipping System
- 3D InSight™ Human Liver Microtissue Medium - Selection Guide
- ATP Quantification with the Promega CellTiter-Glo® 2.0 Assay
Frequently Asked Questions
What are primary human hepatocytes and why are they the “gold standard” in vitro?
Primary human hepatocytes (PHHs) are liver cells isolated directly from donated human liver tissue. Unlike immortalized cell lines, PHHs retain the native metabolic functions, enzyme expression (especially cytochrome P450 enzymes), and transporter activity of the human liver. This makes them the gold standard for in vitro liver research, particularly in drug metabolism, toxicity, and pharmacokinetics studies.
Their physiological relevance enables more accurate predictions of how a compound will behave in humans—something that simpler models or animal-derived cells often fail to capture.
What is the difference between 2D hepatocyte culture and 3D liver spheroids?
In 2D hepatocyte cultures, liver cells are grown as a flat monolayer on a plastic surface. While simple to handle, these cells rapidly lose liver-specific functions, such as cytochrome P450 activity and albumin production, limiting their use for long-term or predictive studies.
In contrast, 3D liver spheroids—such as InSphero’s 3D InSight™ Human Liver Microtissues—are self-assembled co-cultures of hepatocytes and non-parenchymal cells that mimic the structural and functional complexity of the liver. These 3D models maintain liver-specific functions over several weeks, support long-term and repeated-dose studies, and better replicate the in vivo liver environment, enabling more human-relevant and translational insights.
How long do the microtissues remain functional in culture?
Once received, the 3D liver microtissues maintain high viability, albumin secretion, and stable CYP450 activity for up to 4 weeks, supporting short- and long-term experiments, including repeated dosing.
How reproducible are the data between different productions?
Each production batch of assay-ready 3D InSight™ Human Liver Microtissues is manufactured using a standardized, controlled process to ensure consistency. Every batch undergoes rigorous quality control, including checks for spheroid size, ATP content, and confirmation of one spheroid per well.
To support transparency and reproducibility, each plate is shipped with a certificate of analysis (CoA).
What are assay-ready 3D InSight™ Human Liver Microtissues?
They are pre-aggregated, viable 3D liver spheroids composed of primary human hepatocytes and liver non-parenchymal cells (including but not exclusively Kupffer and endothelial cells), delivered in Akura™ 96 spheroid microplates (1 spheroid/well).
Ready for immediate use upon arrival. No thawing and seeding.
Do I need special media or plates to use assay-ready spheroids?
The assay-ready 3D InSight™ Human Liver Microtissues are delivered in Akura™ 96 spheroid microplates, optimized for 3D spheroid culture—no transfer is needed.
To maintain viability and function, you should use the appropriate 3D InSight™ Liver Maintenance Medium (Tox, AF, or INF), provided or specified with your order.
How often does InSphero change donor lots, and how is data consistency ensured?
Donor lot changes at InSphero are infrequent, thanks to the use of large pooled donor lots, enabling consistent supply for long-term studies.
To ensure data consistency, InSphero follows a standardized production process and performs comprehensive lot validation before a donor lot is released for production. Each lot is evaluated for key hepatic and non-parenchymal cell markers (e.g., albumin, ASGR1, CK18, BSEP, CD68, CD31, α-SMA), and functionally characterized over time for ATP levels, albumin secretion, cytochrome P450 activity, and IL-6 profiling.
Only lots that meet strict performance criteria are approved for production, ensuring high-quality, consistent data across experiments.
What are the benefits of using a multi-donor liver model?
The microtissues are produced from pooled hepatocytes from 5 female and 5 male donors, combined with non-parenchymal cells from a single donor. This approach minimizes donor-specific variability and ensures a reliable, population-relevant response across batches. When a donor lot change is planned, InSphero informs customers in advance so they can perform bridge studies if necessary, ensuring continuity and comparability in their data.
What customization options are available for 3D InSight™ Human Liver Microtissues?
Yes, InSphero offers customized 3D liver microtissues tailored to specific research needs. Available variations include:
- Single-donor models for investigating donor-specific responses
- Monocultures of primary human hepatocytes without non-parenchymal cells
- Donor diversity panels, including specific genetic backgrounds, disease states, or demographic/ethnic profiles
- Custom cell compositions (e.g., exclusion or inclusion of specific NPC types)
These tailored models are developed in close collaboration with customers and follow the same rigorous quality standards as standard assay-ready microtissues, ensuring high reproducibility and physiological relevance.