GrowDex® Hydrogel is a bio-friendly hydrogel extracted from birch and sourced from sustainable and responsibly managed forests. GrowDex® is a ready to use hydrogel that mimics the extracellular matrix (ECM), supporting cell growth and differentiation with consistent results. The versatility of GrowDex® has seen it used in numerous applications ranging from 3D cell culture and organ-on-a-chip models, through to drug release studies and 3D printing. GrowDex® is ideal for these and other applications due to its unique properties.

• Animal-free: Xeno-free with no detectable endotoxins, GrowDex® is pH neutral and supplied in a user friendly syringe for convenience and ease of use
• Ready to use: No cross-linking, no gelation, no sonication or any other steps required prior to use - just mix with media and cells, dispense and incubate
• Biocompatible: Nanofibrillar network allows easy diffusion of small molecules, such as nutrients and oxygen, supporting the culture of various cell types
• Microscope and imaging compatible: GrowDex® is not auto-fluorescent, is compatible with microscope and cell imaging systems and can be used for brightfield, phase contrast or fluorescence image capture
• Room temperature stable: Stored, shipped and used at room temperature, this stable hydrogel eliminates the need for temperature control, costly transportation and is ideal for use in liquid handling system for the automation of any cell-based assay
• Reproducible lots: Raw material supply, production procedures and quality control checks ensure that GrowDex® is manufactured reproducibly to the highest standards
• Tunable viscosity: The viscosity ”stiffness” of GrowDex® can be tuned by dilution with media

Being a completely xeno-free hydrogel, GrowDex® enables complete control over the culture environment for cells. This flexibility has enabled GrowDex® to be used in a wide variety of assays culturing cells from many different sources, such as primary hepatocytes for in vitro drug screening or patient derived cells in a personalised medicine study. Other examples include: 3D organoid formation, hepatocyte toxicity, induction and metabolism, stem cell proliferation and differentiation, tumour cell migration and invasion, neurite outgrowth and network formation, patient specific cells and biopsies, human corneal cells, lung adenocarcinoma, osteoblast and chondrocyte, melanoma, co-culture of various cell types, regenerative medicine and tissue engineering.

GrowDase™ is a purified mixture of cellulase enzymes that has been specifically developed to breakdown the nanofibrillar cellulose present in GrowDex® hydrogel matrix to soluble glucose. The process is simple, enzyme is mixed with the sample and incubated at 37 °C until the GrowDex® has been reduced to non toxic sugars. Enzymatic removal allows cells to be recovered from the matrix efficiently, retain their 3D structure, e.g. spheroid or organoid intact and does not exhibit any adverse effect on cell viability or functionality. The amount of GrowDase™ required for cell recovery is dependent on the amount of GrowDex® (cellulose) present in the sample. One GrowDase™ vial (2,5 ml) can degrade 5 ml of GrowDex®. Recovery of cells, organoids or spheroids for downstream processing once a live cell assay has been concluded can be advantageous for many cell based studies. Additional data relating to gene or protein expression can be generated or cells used for further experimental work such as in multi-dose studies.