StemGel is a fully synthetic, chemically defined hydrogel. Low batch-to-batch variability. Tunable mechanics. Peer-reviewed and validated in liver organoid research at leading Berlin institutions.
Limited spots available for our first validated cohort. Join 4 researchers already on the waitlist.
🔒 No credit card·Free trial kit included·Protocol provided on signup
We're opening StemGel to a select group of research labs before commercial launch. Each lab receives a validated free kit, our SOP protocol, and direct technical support from our chemistry team.
Spots are genuinely limited.
4 spots reserved
Recent registrations: Researcher from Charité
Join researchers from Charité, BIH, Helmholtz-Zentrum and more. Free kit + protocol on confirmation.
A synthetic, tunable hydrogel, designed to overcome the limitations of animal-derived matrices.
No animal-derived variability: fully synthetic and chemically defined.
Gels in 1–2 min. Workflow with no waiting time.
Works at room temperature. No cold chain required.
Stiffness & biochemical signals independently configurable.
Enables live-cell microscopy and in-situ imaging.
Stable & reproducible across batches.
Binding motifs
Customisable per cell type
Dilutable
Compatible with any medium
No coating
Well-plate ready
Dual character
Hydrophobic & hydrophilic
In-situ staining
Imaging-compatible
The 3D cell culture field has been built on a matrix that is undefined, animal-derived, and structurally batch-variable. The consequences for your research are real.
Matrigel's composition changes between lots. One batch your organoids form perfectly. The next, nothing grows. You repeat weeks of work. The root cause is impossible to identify because the matrix is undefined.
Reviewers increasingly cite ECM variability as a reproducibility concern. When your matrix is undefined, your mechanistic conclusions are too. Every paper written with Matrigel carries this asterisk.
Need a stiffer substrate? Different adhesion? Impossible with Matrigel. Its composition is fixed, undefined, and impossible to modify. You work around it, or you don't do the experiment.
Batch-to-batch variability in Matrigel is not a quality control problem. It is a structural impossibility. No animal-derived extract can be chemically identical across batches. The only solution is synthetic.
StemGel is a fully synthetic, chemically defined two-component hydrogel matrix for 3D cell culture. Every batch is identical. Every property is tunable. Every experiment is reproducible. Built from synthetic polymers and assembled via bioorthogonal click chemistry, StemGel gives researchers what Matrigel structurally cannot: precision.
01 · Mix
Two components mixed at room temperature. Set stiffness by adjusting the crosslinker ratio. No heat required. No pH adjustment. No timing pressure. Works in any buffer or media composition.
02 · Gel
SPAAC click-chemistry crosslinking is bioorthogonal: it does not interfere with cells, growth factors, or media components. Gelation occurs at physiological conditions. Add cells before or after gelation.
03 · Culture
Culture your organoids, tumoroids, or spheroids directly in StemGel. Image in situ without ECM background interference. Run drug response assays embedded in the gel. No harvesting required for imaging-based workflows.
| Property | StemGel value |
|---|---|
| Composition | Fully synthetic: dendritic polyglycerol (dPG) core + PEG crosslinker |
| Crosslinking chemistry | SPAAC (strain-promoted azide-alkyne cycloaddition), bioorthogonal |
| Stiffness range | 200–2000 Pa (tunable at mixing) |
| Functionalization | Modular: RGD, IKVAV, or custom bioactive motifs via click-chemistry |
| Gelation conditions | Room temperature, any pH, any buffer |
| Batch variability | Zero, chemically defined and fully synthetic |
| Storage | 2–8°C, 12+ months shelf life |
| Animal-derived components | None, fully xeno-free |
| Patent status | EU Patent EP4355793B1, granted October 2024 |
StemGel is built on published, peer-reviewed research. Not a prototype, but a validated platform with a growing body of scientific literature.
Riediger et al. · Mater. Adv. 2026, 7, 2738–2751
Introducing sulfation into thiol–maleimide crosslinked hydrogels to tune mechanical properties and biological interactions, improving cell biocompatibility for synthetic ECM applications.
Read PaperWang et al. · Adv. Funct. Mater. 2025
StemGel enables systematic, stiffness-dependent control of hepatic lineage specification in hiPSC-derived liver organoids, a capability Matrigel structurally cannot provide.
Read PaperLiang et al. · Adv. Funct. Mater. 2021
Thermoresponsive sulfated hydrogels engineered as microniches for iPSC growth and controlled release, demonstrating temperature-dependent cell adhesion and expansion.
Read PaperWe believe open science accelerates adoption. All StemGel protocols are freely available, no registration required. Download, adapt, and use them directly in your workflow.
hiPSC-derived liver organoids · Hepatic lineage specification · DILI assays
v1.2 · May 2026
Cancer spheroid formation · Tumoroid drug response assays
v1.0 · May 2026
Broad 3D cell culture · Stiffness optimisation guide
v1.1 · May 2026
For custom protocol development or hands-on guidance, contact our science team.
Batch-to-batch variability
Bioactivity
Pa tunable stiffness range
Months shelf life at 2–8°C
StemGel spins out of the Haag Group at Freie Universität Berlin, one of Europe's leading polymer chemistry labs, with 780+ publications and 100+ patents.
Scientific Advisor: Prof. Dr. Rainer Haag · FU Berlin, Institut für Chemie und Biochemie · 780+ publications · 100+ patents
StemGel is currently validated for: liver organoid culture and hepatic lineage specification (hiPSC-derived), cancer tumoroid formation and growth assays, in-situ imaging workflows, and embedded drug response assays that do not require cell extraction. We are actively developing harvesting protocols; contact us if this is a requirement for your work.
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