3D Hydrogel Cell Cultures and Their Biomedical Applications

In recent years, research into 3D cell cultures has grown remarkably, supporting significant advances in biomedical applications and drug development. Numerous studies have demonstrated their importance for controlling the cellular environment to better emulate natural tissue conditions and provide new insights into cell–cell and cell–matrix interactions for cell growth, differentiation, and migration. This review explores how 3D cell cultures outperform traditional planar/2D culture systems, detailing their key characteristics along with the strengths and limitations of different hydrogel biomaterials and platforms used for their formation, housing, and studying such cell‐in‐hydrogel cultures, including microfluidic and 3D printed arrangements. Finally, the review showcases recent cutting‐edge applications of 3D hydrogel models and their essential roles in biomedical research and translation, including tissue engineering, drug discovery, cancer research, and neuroscience.