MatriChem Accelerates Bioink Development with Medical University of Plovdiv
The Medical University of Plovdiv and its Research Institute, a leader in the construction and validation of bioprinted tissue models, and MatriChem (Sofia), an innovative Bulgarian startup and a leader in the development and production of bioinks and bioresins for 3D bioprinting, collaborate for the development of bioinks tailored for the construction of 3D tissue models. The collaborative research agreement brings together the efforts of the leading Bulgarian researchers in the field of bioprinting. The two groups are responsible for the first research projects performed in Bulgaria and published in international peer-reviewed journals in 2021. The combination of the first bioprinter in Bulgaria, located at MU-Plovdiv, and the first permit allowing the use of animal by-products for R&D purposes, granted to MatriChem, give unique advantages to the collaborators for pioneering fundamental research and innovative products.
The collaboration between MU-Plovdiv and MatriChem follows six-month exploratory collaborative research which resulted in promising preliminary results and validated an innovative bioink concept for extrusion bioprinting. Some of these results were utilized by MatriChem for a patent application. The collaboration is expected to provide more opportunities for IP protection.
Murad Redzheb, Ph.D., Director of MatriChem and the advisor of the first thesis work on bioprinting tissue models defended in Bulgaria: “For MatriChem, it is an honor and a great responsibility as we engage with this opportunity to develop innovative products assisted by the Medical University of Plovdiv and particularly, prof. Sarafian’s group! With the help of their expertise in bioprinting and comprehensive characterization of in vitro tissue models, we have the opportunity to accelerate the development of our bioinks. We believe that bioprinting will fundamentally change the way patients are treated because it enables the construction of personalized disease models for in vitro screening of drugs allowing the fine-tuning of treatment according to the patient profile. We are delighted with the opportunity to work with a team that shares our priorities to comply with the principles of the Good Laboratory Practices and develop comprehensively validated products, including bioinks and in vitro tissue models. We are convinced that these priorities are a precondition for the development of sustainable processes and products to be established on the world market, as well as to perform high-quality research and contribute to the development of the field of bioprinted tissue engineering.”
MU-Plovdiv: “For us, it is a challenge to partner with a modern startup which is an important step towards opening up the University and the Research Institute to the business and the successful application of the scientific achievements into practice.”
the collaboration article is Published in
MatriChem and the Institute of polymers collaborate to develop high quality collagen products
MatriChem has established a partnership with the Institute of Polymers, part of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, to develop polymers suitable for in vitro tissue engineering. The first milestone of the partnership is to develop a collagen extraction procedure resulting in highly consistent molecular characteristics. A particular focus of this activity is the rheological and mechanical properties of collagen bio inks (hydrogels) optimized for extrusion bioprinting. Another milestone of the partnership is the development of a photosensitive collagen formulation enabling the engineering of bio inks with tunable mechanical properties.