The new hydrogel accelerates the growth of organelles and is 600 times cheaper than analogues

The new development will allow the development of organoids cheaper, faster and more ethically. The hydrogel will also improve

drug screening and modeling of variousdiseases: infections like COVID-19; metabolic disorders such as obesity and diabetes, as well as cancer. After further testing, this hydrogel will be available to healthcare researchers in less than 12 months.

Also, nanocellulose gels are inexpensive - the price for 10 ml costs less than $ 1, while the cost of an analogue is more than $ 600.

In addition, nanocellulose gels are of plant origin. Their use does not require the extraction of animal organs for advanced medical research.

Organoids are three-dimensional, reduced andsimplified versions of organs that are able to reproduce their behavior and functions. Such "mini-organs" are a convenient tool for studying biological processes. With the help of organelles, scientists are studying how cells interact in an organ, how diseases affect them, and the effect of drug treatment.

Organoids are formed from embryonic and adultstem cells, as well as from primary healthy or malignant tissues. Now the creation of organelles depends on this expensive material. This discourages the use of organelles in high-throughput screening, regenerative medicine, and diagnostics.

The developed nanocellulose gel is an alternative to traditional organelle cultivation, which reduces the cost of disease research.

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