3D Cell Culture Vessel “MicoCell™” First Application in Regenerative Medicine

  • Research and Development

Regenerative medicine treatments utilizing “MicoCell™” developed by NIPPON SHOKUBAI CO., LTD.(Headquarters: Osaka, Japan, President: Kazuhiro Noda; hereinafter “Nippon Shokubai”) have commenced at Saiseikai Sobajima Clinic and Research Institute (Location: Osaka, Japan, President and Medical Director: Satoshi Sobajima; hereinafter “Sobajima Clinic”).

MicoCell™ is a 3D cell culture vessel developed by Nippon Shokubai using its proprietary technology. Unlike conventional 3D floating culture vessels and 2D culture vessels, the surface of this culture vessel is made of a material designed to enable weak cell adhesion, thereby replicating an environment similar to that in vivo. When disaggregated cells are introduced, they bind to each other three-dimensionally and form uniformly sized aggregates (spheroids). This allows for the easy production of large quantities of high-quality cell aggregates, which are necessary for regenerative medicine, drug screening, and other drug discovery research.

Figure 1: Comparison of culture vessel


Sobajima Clinic, recognized as one of the leading regenerative medicine institutions in Japan, has been providing treatment for knee osteoarthritis*1 treatments utilizing 2D stem cell cultures since 2016. Now, they have begun accepting general patients for a new treatment *2 in which cell aggregates cultured with MicoCell™ are injected into the affected area.

Figure 2: Overview of treatment for osteoarthritis of the knee using
“MicoCell™”

In the future, we will contribute to the further development of regenerative medicine through the spread of MicoCell™.

●Features of the 3D cell culture vessel “MicoCell™”
Vessel Properties
・Free of biologically derived components and materials: Enables the creation of cultures without biologically derived components
・Flat bottom, high transparency: Easy observation under a microscope
・High-density cavity structure: Possible to produce large quantities of cell aggregates with a uniform particle size
Culture Properties
・Formation of cell aggregates that are moderately attached to the bottom of the vessel: Reduces loss of cell aggregates during culture medium exchange, enables long-term culturing.
・Cell aggregates can be collected without the use of release agents: Easy operation, low toxicity
Cells Functions
・Maintains a good survival rate and protein production: Applications in drug screening, regenerative medicine, etc.

*1: Knee osteoarthritis (OA) involves the wear or loss of cartilage in the knee, leading to deformation of the knee, pain, and swelling. There are approximately 10 million patients in Japan, and over 33 million potential patients with no subjective symptoms in whom knee OA could be confirmed by X-ray diagnosis. Aging is the major cause of knee OA, and the number of patients is therefore increasing with the aging of the population.
Reference: “Report on Measures to Prevent Musculoskeletal Diseases to Promote Long-Term Care Prevention,” July 1, 2008, Study Group on Measures to Prevent Musculoskeletal Diseases to Promote Long-Term Care Prevention, Health and Welfare Bureau for the Elderly, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.[Translated from Japanese.]

*2: Nippon Shokubai and Sobajima Clinic began joint research in 2017, and clinical research has confirmed the safety of 3D cell aggregates in five patients since 2021. In addition, clinical research conducted from 2023 on ten patients has yielded results suggesting the effectiveness of 3D cell aggregates.

For inquiries regarding MicoCell™, please click here.
For inquiries regarding regenerative medicine using MicoCell™, please click here.

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