Fig. 1

Alginate encapsulated tissue microstructures maintained parental tumor architecture. a Experimental workflow for the establishment of long-term cultures of BC patient-derived tissue microstructures: samples were collected at the hospital and brought to the laboratory within 1–3 h of surgery. Tissue samples were mechanical processed and subjected to mild enzymatic digestion. The obtained BC tissue microstructures were encapsulated in alginate and cultured for up to 1 month. Along culture, tissue microstructures were interrogated: cell viability assessment, immunohistochemistry analysis (IHC), Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) microscopy and estrogen receptor α (ER) stimulation and inhibition were performed. b Hematoxylin and eosin of biopsy (top row) and corresponding encapsulated microstructures at 1 month of culture (bottom row) (scale: 200 μm)