Table 1.

Types of biomaterials used in three-dimensional (3D) cell culture and their advantages and disadvantages.

Type	Advantage	Disadvantage	References
Hydrogel	Tissue like flexibility Easily supplies water-soluble factors to cells	Low mechanical resistance	[5,11,13,17,18]
Solid scaffold	Various materials can be used Physical strength is easily adjusted	Difficulty in homogeneous dispersion of cells	[15,16,19,20,21]
Decellularized native tissue	Provides complex biochemistry, biomechanics and 3D tissues of tissue-specific extracellular matrix (ECM)	Decrease of mechanical properties (roughness, elasticity, and tension strength) of the tissues as compared to the native group	[22,23,24,25,26]
Ultra-low attachment surface	Provides an environment similar to in vivo conditions	Difficulty in mass production Lack of uniformity between spheroids	[27,28,29,30,31]