Vyon porous plastic discs and annular absorbers manufactured to extremely tight tolerances by Porvair Sciences offer cutting-edge filtration and separation of materials for healthcare, pharmaceutical and life science applications.

Drawing upon a wealth of knowledge in the manufacture of industry-leading porous plastics, combined with advanced materials expertise, Porvair Sciences has established a reputation for delivering outstanding hydrophilic components to OEM customers worldwide.

Employing precision moulding and die cutting processes, Porvair Sciences can efficiently convert hydrophilic Vyon® porous plastic into discs and annular shaped parts to tightly toleranced specifications. These versatile approaches enable Porvair to offer high performing, precisely manufactured products in diameters ranging from 3 mm to 1 metre using any of its hydrophilic Vyon materials options up to 4.75 mm thick.

Hydrophilically-treated Vyon materials have exceptional absorption and fluid transfer properties and therefore, can be implemented as an efficient absorber with its instantaneous wetting properties.

Due to the tortuous path of its porous structure, hydrophilic Vyon can efficiently filter and trap contaminants while allowing for effective delivery of drugs in various forms like solutions, suspensions and emulsions.

Hydrophilic Vyon has been tested to the most rigorous of USP classes and certified with a Class VI approval. Widely used in drug delivery and rapid diagnostic testing applications, its biocompatibility makes Vyon the ideal porous plastic material for healthcare, life science and pharmaceutical applications.

• For more information, visit: www.vyonporousplastics.com/material-treatments/

CN Bio’s PhysioMimix OOC multi-organ microphysiological system.

CN Bio, a leading developer of single and multi-organ microphysiological systems (MPS), otherwise known as organ-on-a-chip (OOC), has launched its new PhysioMimix™ OOC Multi-Organ MPS. The next-generation platform combines CN Bio’s in vitro 3D liver model, whose phenotype and functions mimic that in vivo, with a range of other organs to more accurately recapitulate the multi-organ and systemic effects observed in humans.

Demonstrating a key milestone in the Company’s mission to develop the most complete human ‘body-on-a-chip’ in the laboratory, the PhysioMimix OOC Multi-Organ MPS will provide advanced insights into the potential effects of novel therapeutics that were previously only achievable using animal models.

CN Bio’s Multi-Organ MPS enables researchers to generate sophisticated in vitro models that better represent human inter-organ crosstalk effects compared to single-organ MPS, or animal models. This system can be used to decrease the risk of clinical trial failures due to cross-species translational differences and can be used in the development of new human-specific modalities for which animal models are unsuited.

The Company’s advanced 3D liver model can be reliably and easily interconnected with other organs (such as gut, lung or kidney) to provide a human in vitro alternative to animal or in silico first pass metabolism studies (ADME), to elicit a deeper human-specific mechanistic understanding of disease states and to identify reactive metabolite-driven toxicity or multi-organ toxicity. Furthermore, in vitro to in vivo clinical predictions can be extrapolated using Physiologically-Based Pharmacokinetics (PBPK) mathematical models, to increase the accuracy and precision of data translation. For existing PhysioMimix users, an upgrade path is available.

Prior to launch, the system has undergone extensive internal and external validation by the University of Pittsburgh, and by a major pharmaceutical company.

Inherent biological differences

“The inherent biological differences of animal models with human physiology frequently result in the misrepresentation of pharmacological processes, contributing to the large proportion of new medicines that fail in clinical trials. Furthermore, in certain scenarios, animal models are unsuitable for efficacy and safety evaluation due to their genetic and immunological differences,” said Dr David Hughes, CEO, CN Bio.

“Our new multi-organ platform addresses the needs of a wider customer base, whilst providing the same ease-of-use, robustness, and reliability as the single-organ system which has been on the market since 2018. This launch extends CN Bio’s reach from world-leading provider of single-organ-on-a-chip technologies into multi-organ-on-a-chip, as we strive to expand the boundaries of humanized pre-clinical research and development.”

Professor Alan Wells, Professor of Pathology, Integrative Systems Biology Department, University of Pittsburgh, said: “The pathobiology of disease, even if limited to one organ, does not occur in isolation to the rest of the body. To understand how other events affect the pathology in question requires their constant communication. We are finding these networks key to tumour progression in metastatic sites, to address the Achilles heel of cancer therapy.”

• For future details on the PhysioMimix OOC range, now comprising the PhysioMimix Single-Organ and PhysioMimix Multi-Organ Systems, visit: https://cn-bio.com/physiomimixooc/

Thermo Fisher Scientific has expanded its Thermo Scientific General Purpose Pro Centrifuge Series with the addition of two new models designed to meet the needs of biopharmaceutical, cell and gene therapy, and academic research laboratories, as well as clinical diagnostic facilities, for enhanced sample safety and reproducibility, improved ergonomics and reduced noise levels.

The new 1.6 L benchtop and 4 L floor-standing systems complete the General Purpose Pro Centrifuge Series, completing a comprehensive family of products to address varying sample capacity and laboratory space requirements. Like the other systems in the series, the new models feature a unique full colour, glass touchscreen display that facilitates a simple user interface for immediate, effortless workflow and operation monitoring, as well as easy cleaning.

A new high-speed rotor complements the 4 L models providing the ability to run both microplates and tubes. Built with versatility in mind, the complete General Purpose Pro Centrifuge Series offers 24 different rotor options in total — including 11 swinging bucket and 13 fixed angle rotors — which can be used interchangeably to align with various application needs, from cell culture procedures and microplate processing to cell and gene therapy manufacturing and clinical protocols. The systems’ ergonomically enhanced, novel industrial design enables the quick and safe change of any of the 24 rotor types in just three seconds through the Auto-Lock Rotor Exchange function.

The General Purpose Pro Centrifuge Series includes the Thermo Scientific Sorvall, Thermo Scientific Multifuge and Thermo Scientific Megafuge systems, all of which meet the latest global IVD standards and medical regulations. Superior sample capacity and performance are enabled through the systems’ Fiberlite Carbon Fiber Rotors, while the certified ClickSeal Biocontainment Lids ensure personnel and laboratory environment safety and security.

• For more information, visit: Thermo Scientific General Purpose Pro Centrifuge Series