ArticleNature reviews. Materials2020
Synthetic alternatives to Matrigel.
Article in Nature reviews. Materials, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 546 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
546 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 926 citations in OpenAlex.
- [Application and Progress of Organoid-on-a-chip Platforms in Lung Cancer Diagnosis and Therapy].Zhongguo fei ai za zhi = Chinese journal of lung cancer · 2025Pooled it
- Meta-analysis of the make-up and properties of in vitro models of the healthy and diseased blood-brain barrier.Nature biomedical engineering · 2025Pooled it
- Vascularised organoids: Recent advances and applications in cancer research.Clinical and translational medicine · 2025Pooled it
- A systematic review on the culture methods and applications of 3D tumoroids for cancer research and personalized medicine.Cellular oncology (Dordrecht, Netherlands) · 2025Pooled it
- A self-crosslinkable, adhesive intestine-derived extracellular matrix hydrogel enhances organoid retention and restores intestinal barrier integrity.Bioactive materials · 2027Article
- Intestinal Organoids Culture in Synthetic Hydrogels.Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) · 2027Article
- Differentiation of arterioles and capillaries in human blood vessel organoids with decellularized splenic matrix.Bioactive materials · 2026Article
- Thymic APC Networks Orchestrate T-Cell Selection: Mechanisms and Therapeutic Opportunities in Immune Disorders.Immunology · 2026Review
- Tutorial: interrogating biology using organoid technologies.Nature protocols · 2026Review
- Biomimetic Scaffold-Based 3D Models for Decoding Cancer Biology and Advancing Therapy.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Review
- Engineering the Cellular Microenvironment for Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Cardiac Differentiation: Beyond Wnt Signaling.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Current Translational 3D In Vitro Models of Human Placental Tissue.Stem cell reviews and reports · 2026Review
- Current Perspectives on 2D and 3D Cell Culture Models in Cancer Research: Molecular Determinants of Tumor Biology and Therapeutic Response.Current issues in molecular biology · 2026Review
- A pancreatic cancer organoid-macrophage co-culture using starPEG-heparin hydrogel deciphers tumor-immune cell interactions.NPJ precision oncology · 2026Article
- A clinically defined and xeno-free hydrogel system for regenerative medicine.Materials futures · 2026Article
- A Fully Defined GelMA-Based Matrix Allows Fine Tuning of Tissue-Relevant Biomechanical and Biochemical Cues for Organoid Culture.Advanced healthcare materials · 2026Article
- Stress-Adaptive Biomaterials With Tunable Yielding Architectures Regulate Organoid Morphogenesis.Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany) · 2026Article
- Engineering brain organoids for functional validation and translational applications: Construction strategies, vascularization, and standardization.Bioengineering & translational medicine · 2026Review
- Human gastric extracellular matrix hydrogels maintain organoid growth and reduce gene expression associated with stemness and inflammation.Biomedical materials (Bristol, England) · 2026Article
- Harnessing the Bio-Instructive Placental Extracellular Matrix: Structural Properties, Decellularization, and Applications in Regenerative Medicine.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
486 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Matrigel, a basement-membrane matrix extracted from Engelbreth-Holm-Swarm mouse sarcomas, has been used for more than four decades for a myriad of cell culture applications. However, Matrigel is limited in its applicability to cellular biology, therapeutic cell manufacturing and drug discovery owing to its complex, ill-defined and variable composition. Variations in the mechanical and biochemical properties within a single batch of Matrigel - and between batches - have led to uncertainty in cell culture experiments and a lack of reproducibility. Moreover, Matrigel is not conducive to physical or biochemical manipulation, making it difficult to fine-tune the matrix to promote intended cell behaviours and achieve specific biological outcomes. Recent advances in synthetic scaffolds have led to the development of xenogenic-free, chemically defined, highly tunable and reproducible alternatives. In this Review, we assess the applications of Matrigel in cell culture, regenerative medicine and organoid assembly, detailing the limitations of Matrigel and highlighting synthetic scaffold alternatives that have shown equivalent or superior results. Additionally, we discuss the hurdles that are limiting a full transition from Matrigel to synthetic scaffolds and provide a brief perspective on the future directions of synthetic scaffolds for cell culture applications.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.