Fully synthetic animal-free scaffolds: the future of sustainable and scalable organoid culture

Organoids are 3-dimensional (3D) clusters of stem cells that come together and emulate the microenvironment within individual organs, whether that be liver, kidney, heart, gut or other specific organs. Essentially, they can be viewed as miniature, simplified organs. They typically range in size from a few micrometers to five millimeters and there are potentially as many different organoids as there are different tissues and organs in the body. Organoids can also be grown that mimic diseased such as cancer and brain disorders. Such a diverse range of organoids can form by controlling the differentiation of the specific stem cell used, which can be influenced by the cells receiving instructive signals from the 3D extracellular matrix (ECM) and its components, such as bioactive proteins, and the medium the organoids grow in.

Organoids hold extraordinary promise: they are a truly disruptive technology capable of completely transforming our understanding of basic biology and also revolutionising the drug discovery process, and its reliance on animal models. That said, growing organoids in the laboratory still requires the use of animal-derived components; in particular, the 3D gel matrix in which organoids grow, which is made from mouse tumours. There are very few suppliers of this matrix and because it is made from animals, each batch is slightly different, it is also unusual in that it is liquid at 4oC but sets to a gel at room temperature, this makes it very difficult for scientists to use and not compatible with robotic systems needed in high throughput drug discovery. Thus, to fully develop the potential of organoids in their capacity to reduce the need for use of animals in research, it is essential that a replacement for this type of 3D matrix is obtained, which is not derived from animals. The aim of this project is to develop a new, fully synthetic (non-animal derived) 3D gel matrix which is optimised for the growth of organoids and can be used in the future for industrial-scale organoid production to drive forwards biomedical research, drug discovery and development of new therapeutics. This will be achieved by combining the proprietary synthetic matrix from Manchester BIOGEL with the optimised bioactive cell signalling growth factor proteins from Qkine to create a wholly synthetic hydrogel that recreates the ideal growth environment for the organoids. Cellesce, a specialist organoid company will help tailor the synthetic hydrogels for different organoid types and downstream applications to maximise the impact on science and the commercial potential of the combined technology.