The mandatory CAM testing of cells and scaffolds for tissue engineering: benefits for the three Rs of cooperation with the vaccine industry.

In cooperation with BAXTER Vaccine AG, which supplies incubated special pathogen-free chicken eggs (including a full veterinary record), a permanent hen's egg chorio-allantoic membrane test (HET-CAM) unit has been established, where angiogenesis testing, cell culture, and digital and histological analyses are performed. At the Core Unit for Biomedical Research, the location of the animal testing facility of the Medical University Vienna, cell-scaffold constructs must be evaluated in vitro and in ovo prior to eventual in vivo tissue engineering experiments. The animal testing advisory committee requires that new test proposals are first evaluated by using cell culture and HET-CAM models.