“…A comparison of the main features of various bioreactors (static or dynamic flow condition) commonly used in the foremost culture techniques is presented in Table 4. Horizontally rotating, transparent clinostats, RCCS TM devices efficiently create a unique, highly controlled microenvironment that, by reproducing some aspects of microgravity (simulated microgravity) (Klaus, 2001;Ayyaswamy & Mukundakrishnan, 2007), guarantee the most favourable conditions for cell and tissue culturing (Schwarz et al, 1992), and provide potentially powerful tools to reproduce specific 3D tissue morphogenesis (Mazzoleni et al, 2009). Complex tissue-like 3D constructs, different cell types from various origins and various intact tissue explants have been demonstrated, by our group and others, to be kept efficiently in culture by these bioreactors, even for long periods of time (Unsworth & Lelkes, 1998;Hammond & Hammond, 2001;Vunjak-Novakovic et al, 2002;Nickerson et al, 2007;Cosmi et al, 2009;Steimberg et al, 2009Mazzoleni et al, 2011). Figure 5 shows selected examples of RCCS TM -based tissue culture methods, developed and optimised by our group, and their advantages.…”