Tijmen Booij

High-throughput screening with organoids just got easier!

We are developing an organoid screening methodology using GrowDex-T due to its non-animal-derived nature and because it does not require to be temperature-controlled. For HTS applications this makes it the ideal material. We have had initial successes establishing screening-compatible assays for multiple organoid types and look forward to working with GrowDex(-T) more in the future. Compared to conventional matrices, it is possible to dilute GrowDex-T more, meaning also that in addition to being animal-free, the assays get cheaper. To work with the GrowDex-T is relatively straightforward, but in concentrated form is more difficult to handle. After instruction by UPM, or experimenting with a small quantity of the material, you should easily be able to work with it. I really appreciate the customer support of UPM; their instructions regarding product use, and also their enthusiasm to support our research are very highly valued.

Application Area: Organoid High-Throughput Screening

S Rogers

Easy to use, good value for money, fussy cells grow well in it.

GrowDex-T is much easier to use than many other hydrogels, due to RT stability and no pre-mixing of components. In addition, we chose this product specifically because we wanted an alternative to Matrigel that did not consist of a cancerous ECM. Our "fussy" cells grow well in it, image nicely, and even remained intact following fixing and transport to another facility for microscopy.

Application Area: 3D Invasion assay

Jan Bruder

Easy to use, compatible with human stem cell-based organoid culture.

GrowDex T is a transparent hydrogel that is ready-to-use after mixing with a cell culture medium of choice. We embedded organoids for mechanical protection during transport and found that GrowDex boosts cell viability under these circumstances without altering morphology or apparent cell differentiation. In addition, it was easily removed via cellulase enzyme, which digests growdex-cellulose, but leaves human tissues and cell-cell connections intact.

Application Area: Embedding organoids for shipping

Viktoria Zaderer

Very positive experiences and additionally optimization of our culturing processes!

As our working group has already shown before, the GrowDex products have a positive impact on the proliferation and differentiation of Normal Human Bronchial Epithelial cells (NHBE). We cultivate these epithelial cells and generate a three dimensional multi layered lung model under animal-free conditions. This model is a very good base to study host-pathogen interactions, especially in these days for studying the interaction of viral particles with human lung epithelium. At the beginning we used GrowDex to seed the cells in Transwells and so replace rat tail collagen. The GrowDex product is very easy in use and works excellently as extracellular matrix for the cells to grow in. Since this product showed positive results in proliferation and differentiation rates of NHBE cells we also decided to give the new GrowDex-T a try. Also this product shows the same advantages for our research and furthermore we could use it in a lower concentration, what makes it even cheaper. For now we grow the lung model for more than one and a half years in GrowDex products. This made it possible for us to save money, get rid of rat tail collagen as the last animal derived compound in our culturing process and even get better results concerning expansion and differentiation of cells. Not only that this product is very easy to mix and apply it also offers the big advantage that it can be digested with the GrowDase. This is another big advantage of GrowDex products, because this cellulose based hydrogel can be easily digested without harming the cells growing in it. So it is possible to resolve the cultivated cells out of the extracellular matrix and use them for further experiments. Besides all these positive impacts, the customer service from UPM Biochemicals is very friendly and helpful, making it even more joyful to order and work with their products!

Application Area: Examine viral interactions in a three dimensional human derived epithelial lung model

Kirsi Rilla

Great results.

Very good for high resolution imaging experiments.

Application Area: 3D cell cultures