Our Technology
Current in vitro models of development and disease typically fail to recapitulate the complexities of native tissue microenvironments, leading to a poor extrapolation of in vitro findings to in vivo relevance. This is a major contributing factor to the high attrition rate of new drugs moving from the lab to the clinic, leading to an estimated cost of US$2 billion to bring a new lifesaving therapy to market.
Growing recognition of this has led to a recent interest in developing more sophisticated 3D in vitro model platforms which allow for customisation of matrix stiffness and composition. However, despite considerable research effort, no single platform has yet pulled ahead of the competition. The current market leaders in this area continue to be naturally-derived hydrogels, such as those produced from Engelbreth-Holm-Swarm (EHS) mouse sarcoma. These materials suffer from an ill-defined composition, high batch variability, and offer limited options for customisation.
With the support of the NC3Rs, BBSRC, and EPSCR, we have developed a fully synthetic self-assembling peptide hydrogel (SAPH) platform which aims to address all the current shortcomings of available 3D in vitro model platforms. To learn more about all the ways this platform sets itself apart from the competition, see below...
01
Animal-free
PeptiMatrix™ is entirely animal-product free and 3Rs compliant. Each formulation has been designed to mimic the physiological conditions of a specific tissue type and promises to deliver more human-relevant data.
02
Reproducible
Because PeptiMatrix™ is fully synthetic, it also offers limited batch variability. We also employ a rigorous batch testing protocol to give you greater peace of mind.
03
Customisable
PeptiMatrix™ can be fully customised through a variety of available methods, to include matrix components selected to match a specific tissue type. Its stiffness can also be tuned independently of its composition.
04
Validated
With access to a bank of close-to-patient cells representing a variety of tissue types, we are able to validate each formulation of PeptiMatrix™ for its intended application before it reaches you.
05
Ready-to-use
After being fully customised and validated, each formulation of PeptiMatrix™ will be delivered to you ready-to-use. There are no complex preparatory steps, just add your cells and plate out!
06
Optically Transparent
PeptiMatrix™ is optically transparent, with no background fluorescence. This makes it easier to view your cells under a brightfield microscope and also generate better images using traditional methods for fluorescent readout, such as reporter lines or tagged antibodies.
07
Versatile
PeptiMatrix™ is also highly amenable to a variety of typical end-point experiments, using only standard reagents and equipment found in most labs. These include: immunocytochemistry, confocal imaging, plate read analysis, rheology, etc.
The gels can also be processed for sectioning and encapsulated cells can be released for re-seeing or for further processing (e.g., by flow cytometry, or extraction of material for PCR, proteomics, or glycan analysis).