UK: Biomedicine Collagen from Jellyfish Set to Revolutionize Tissue Engineering

Jellagen has developed a manufacturing process that allows laboratory technicians to scale up the production of collagen from jellyfish. The resulting product is a new jellyfish collagen hydrogel suitable for 3D cell culture and tissue engineering.

Cardiff/UK — Jellyfish collagen constitutes an ancient chemical template of all collagens. The new product launched by Jellagen is a versatile hydrogel product based on collagen from jellyfish. Unlike mammalian collagens, Jellagel is free from carry-over contaminants (e.g. proteins, polysaccharides, disease vectors). It also contains lower non-specific miRNA than mammalian collagens, reducing off-target effects. When compared with synthetic materials, many of which are based on β-structured fibrous materials, jellyfish collagen is bioresorbable and non-toxic to cells, from stem to lineage cells.

In a recent collaborative study with the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) as part of Innovate UK’s Analysis for Innovators (A4I) programme, the company sought to develop a robust protocol for the culturing of cell lines in three dimensions. The study performed an in-depth analysis of jellyfish collagen materials and showed that these are able to effectively encapsulate cells, while retaining their viability. According to Nilofar Faruqui, a research scientist from the National Physical Laboratory who led the project, 3D tissue scaffolds such as hydrogels hold great promise for biomedicine including applications in cell therapies and regenerative medicine.

(ID:46129882)