FIGURE 2.

The viability of spheroids from static cultures determined by staining with calcein AM and ethidium after 7 days. (A) INS‐1 spheroids featured a dead core and a viable mantle, whereas MIN6 spheroids featured a heterogenous distribution of dead cells. The loose structure of the 1.1B4 spheroids promoted sufficient mass transfer resulting in a high viability. (B) Insulin secretion profiles of INS‐1 cells cultured as monolayers and spheroids cultured under static (96‐well plate) and dynamic (shaking flask) conditions (n = 3; data are means ± STDV; significance intervals are *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, and ***p < 0.001). 1.1B4, a cell line formed by the electrofusion of primary human pancreatic islets and PANC‐1 cells; INS‐1, rat insulinoma‐1 cell line; MIN6, mouse insulinoma‐6 cell line; STDV, standard deviations