Customisable Microcarriers

Elevating your Bioproduction with Sophisticated Microcarrier, Hydrogels and µFluidic Solutions

Technology

Smart MCs specialise in developing customised microcarriers tailored to specific cell types and applications. Our microcarriers enable efficient and streamlined cell culture while minimising cell loss, resulting in cost-effective and high-yield expansion of cells.

Smart MCs is revolutionising the field of cellular cultivation by developing custom microcarriers made from biodegradable materials. Despite the long history of microcarrier development, the lack of customisability has remained a major challenge. Most microcarrier technologies suffer from poor harvesting performance, high cost and lengthy processing stages. Efficient microcarriers are a crucial factor for scaling in vivo adherent cell culture (e.g., cellular therapeutics and agriculture).

To overcome the limitations, Smart MCs has developed customisable microcarriers made from edible and biodegradable materials, tailored towards varied applications in terms of size, stiffness, surface roughness, texture, topography and surface chemistry.

Core Product Features

Flexible Materials

Xeno-Free, Biodegradable and Edible Options

Affordable

Xeno-Free, Biodegradable and Edible Options

Simple Workflow

One-Step Harvesting - No Cell Loss Associated

Customised Solution

Tuneable Physical & Chemical Properties

Microcarriers

Growth Factor Embedding

Engrave Your Growth Factor for Slow Release During Culture The ability to customise the microcarriers goes beyond physical attributes where different growth or antimicrobial factors can be embedded in the microcarriers which would act as a slow-release function throughout the culture.

Price Competitive

Owing to the revolutionary production approach, Smart MCs use basic food ingredients with a simplified production workflow that is not wasteful. Thus, the microcarriers are affordable and provide a scalable solution for large-scale applications including cultured meat.

Cell Types

Pluripotent stem cells (PSC), neural stem cells (NSC), mesenchymal stem cells (MSC), hematopoietic stem cells (HSC), organoids, 3D culture, human embryonic kidney cells (HEK), Chinese hamster ovary cells (CHO), adherent cells, fibroblasts, chondrocytes, hepatocytes.

Applications

Vaccine production, stem cell culture / expansion / differentiation, viral vectors, tissue engineering, 3D bioprinting, cell therapy, cultivated meat, large scale cell expansion, bioreactors, scale-up.

Microcarriers for Cultivated Meat

The cultivated meat industry has increased demand for microcarriers, but current options have significant limitations. These limitations include high cost, typically over $2,000 per kg of meat, high cell loss rates of over 50%, and lack of edibility, as microcarriers may be made of non-food grade materials like plastic or glass, which can lead to particulates ending up in the final product. These limitations make current microcarriers unsuitable for the cultivated meat industry and require the development of new solutions that are cost-effective, efficient, and safe for consumption.

Limiting Factors with Scaled up Cell Culture

Scaling up cell culture can be challenging due to the limited surface area for cell growth. Traditional small-scale methods, such as plastic flasks, become impractical when attempting to grow cells on a large scale. Technologies like multi-layer flasks and cell factories can improve the surface area-to-volume ratio, but they are not scalable solutions. Bioreactors, which are large stirring tanks, offer a more efficient and automated solution for cell culture. However, these are not suitable for growing cells that require a substrate, such as adherent cells. To overcome this limitation, microcarriers have been developed to allow the growth of these types of cells in suspension in a bioreactor. Despite the challenges, advances in technology and research are helping to mitigate limitations and enable successful large-scale cell culture.