Cell Guidance Systems Blog

This article surveys the growth factors that underpin organoid culture, why they matter, and how their delivery shapes organoid quality, reproducibility and cost. It explains the roles of the core signalling families, why stem-cell niches depend on tightly regulated factor gradients, and how the practical challenges of growth factor instability and expense are driving interest in sustained-release approaches.

How polyhedrin functions as a viral survival strategy, and how the PODS (Polyhedrin Delivery System) mechanism harnesses polyhedrin's crystalline architecture to encapsulate growth factors and control their release over days to weeks.

Three single-particle methods dominate the modern EV characterisation toolkit: nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA), tunable resistive pulse sensing (TRPS) and microfluidic resistive pulse sensing (MRPS). Which should you choose? Or do you need them all?

Several methods have emerged that dominate the field of extracellular vesicle (EV) isolation. Beyond these, many interesting alternatives are on the horizon.

Hydrogels provide physical support and bioactive stimulation. Choosing the right hydrogel for an application is critical, but narrowing down candidates from the huge choice available is a daunting task.

Activin A is the single most important growth factor in iPSC differentiation toward endoderm-derived lineages, and one of the most widely used in cardiac mesoderm protocols as well.

This article examines each of the major parameters governing a TFF-based EV isolation run: membrane format and molecular weight cut-off selection, transmembrane pressure, cross-flow velocity, concentration factor, diafiltration strategy, temperature and hold time. It also covers process monitoring and the role of SEC polishing as a downstream step following TFF.

Not all extracellular vesicles are the same. Learn how exosomes, microvesicles and apoptotic bodies differ in size, biogenesis and cargo, and why the distinction matters for reproducible EV research.

MSC-derived exosomes (and other extracellular vesicles) have become one of the most actively investigated modalities in regenerative medicine, with peer-reviewed evidence spanning cardiac repair, neural regeneration, wound healing, bone and cartilage restoration, and acute organ injury. This article reviews the biological basis of MSC exosome activity, the therapeutic evidence across key disease areas, the manufacturing and isolation considerations that determine product quality, and the tools available to researchers establishing MSC exosome programmes.

Early diagnosis of cancer is critical to treatment outcome. Cancer cells are revealing themselves, secreting vast numbers of extracellular vesicles into the blood. The race is on to identify these hallmarks of cancer with the target of simple mass testing to catch the disease early.