Porous scaffolds for in vitro modelling and monitoring of the extracellular matrix

Animal studies have long been considered the gold standard for studying disease and analysing drug efficacy in preclinical research. However, the use of animals for studying human systems is now more commonly regarded as ethically questionable, expensive and a poor predictor of human cell response, leading to the widespread movement towards the replacement, reduction and refinement (3Rs) of animal testing in research. This perspective provides an overview of the benefit of moving away from animal models to more sustainable three dimensional (3D) in vitro culture systems and introduces current materials for modelling the extracellular matrix. We will focus primarily on the application of porous scaffolds as we progress from materials that simply support cell hosting to materials such as conducting polymers that are also able to monitor the health of cells grown on their surface.