“Why are my cells sticking to the vessel when I’m using microcarriers?” It’s one of the most common questions researchers ask when working with microcarrier-based cell culture, especially with highly adherent cells like mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs). You’ve added microcarriers. Your cells are viable. Agitation looks reasonable. Yet after 24 hours, cells are clearly [...]
As we step into 2026, we’d like to thank everyone who worked with Smart MCs over the past year and supported our journey.We remain focused on doing our work well, maintaining high standards, and building long-term relationships with our customers and partners across the biotechnology and research sectors.Thank YouThank you to our customers, partners, shareholders, [...]
A brief look at recent work by Tan et al., 2025 The Problem: Stem Cells Struggle in Harsh, Inflamed Environments Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are widely studied because they can reduce inflammation and help damaged tissues repair themselves. They’re being explored for conditions such as arthritis, spinal disc degeneration, and chronic inflammation. But there’s [...]
In a paper published by Yang and colleagues, titled “Stem cell recruitment polypeptide hydrogel microcarriers with exosome delivery for osteoarthritis treatment” in the Journal of Nanobiotechnology (2024), the authors describe a hydrogel microcarrier system designed to improve exosome delivery and support cartilage repair. Their work demonstrates how microfluidic fabrication and biomaterial engineering can help [...]
Microcarriers are tiny spherical materials used to grow cells in 3D, especially when large numbers of cells are needed. A recent study explored how a commonly used commercial microcarrier compared with newly developed GelMA-based microcarriers that contain interconnected pores. This comparison helps illustrate how microcarrier design can influence cell behaviour. A recent study titled [...]
The Growing Role of Microcarriers in Cell Culture In regenerative medicine, cell therapy, and cultivated meat production, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are vital for creating tissues like bone, cartilage, and muscle. However, producing these cells at a large scale is challenging because MSCs must attach to a surface to grow. To overcome this limitation, [...]
The Science Behind Cell–Material Interactions In large-scale cell culture and regenerative medicine, microcarriers are essential for expanding adherent cells in suspension bioreactors. A 2025 study in the Chemical Engineering Journal by Tian et al. revealed that the mechanical stiffness of these carriers directly influences how human amniotic epithelial cells (hAECs) grow and maintain their [...]
A 2025 BMC Veterinary Research study shows how microcarriers in spinner flasks enable scalable MSC exosome production with ~81 nm size, stable charge, and high particle yield plus storage, bioactivity, and safety insights. In a recent study… Title: Scalable production of anti-inflammatory exosomes from three-dimensional cultures of canine adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells: production, stability, [...]
Did you know that microcarriers are not only used for large-scale cell expansion, but also for therapeutic regeneration? A recent communication in Materials Horizons by Na-Hyun Lee, Hye Sung Kim, Hae-Won Kim, and colleagues (Dankook University, South Korea), titled “Chondrocyte-mimetic therapeutic microcarriers for synergistic chemo-mechanical signaling in cartilage regeneration,” reports chondrocyte-mimetic therapeutic microcarriers that [...]
The global demand for seafood continues to climb. Yet overfishing, habitat destruction, and pollution from heavy metals and microplastics make traditional fishing and aquaculture less sustainable every year. One of the most exciting solutions to this challenge is cell-based fish meat, grown directly from fish cells in bioreactors, without needing to raise or harvest [...]
