ASHLAND, Mass., Sept. 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- BioSurfaces, Inc. (BioSurfaces) was awarded a contract from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) BioPrinting Lab at the National Institutes of Health to produce 96-well tissue culture plate assemblies that include its proprietary electrospun materials.   The objective is to deliver prototype 96-well or higher plate assemblies that utilize a biodegradable polymer as the well bottom.  Successful completion of this contract will result in tissue culture plates that will be ready for commercial sale to the government and greater scientific community.  NCATS will pay BioSurfaces approximately $894,000 to perform this work.

Complex cellular and tissue models, such as those created using 3D tissue biofabrication, provide physiologically relevant platforms very useful for: 1) development of therapeutics, 2) regenerative medicine development, and 3) testing environmental and man-made substances. A challenge of these models has been the production of inserts with permeable membranes that promote initial structural support and cellular health which eventually biodegrade over time as the tissue matures.  Commercial well plates traditionally use non-biodegradable membrane materials (primarily polyester, polycarbonate, or polytetrafluoroethylene).  There are no commercially available well plates offering biodegradable alternatives to these materials.

Matthew Phaneuf, President and CTO of BioSurfaces, stated, "We are excited to be awarded this open-bid contract from the NIH.  We have been working with investigators at NCATS since 2016 to develop different electrospun materials for their biofabrication applications.  This contract is another step in the progression of the product development process.  We look forward to providing these investigators, as well as the general scientific community, another tool to use for 3D tissue biofabrication.  This tool is also another way for BioSurfaces to sell its electrospun materials in addition to its promising medical device applications."

For more information, please contact Dr. Gordon Wong, Vice President of Business Development, at gordon.wong@biosurfaces.us or via phone at (508) 881-8860.

SOURCE BioSurfaces, Inc.