In vitro (in Latin for "in glass") refers to experiments or processes that take place outside a living organism in a controlled environment. In vitro research typically involves working with cells or tissues in the laboratory, such as culturing cells in a petri dish or testing the efficacy of gene therapy vectors on different cells. For example, in vitro systems can be used to study the fundamental mechanism of biological processes in a simplified enviroment or to evaluate the toxicity of drug candidates without the use of living organism. The benefits of in vitro research systems include increased control and reproducability of the research experiments, as well as simplified study models. However, these models often lack physiological relevance and fail to capture the important biological interactions.
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