Growing cells on culture plastic in dilute aqueous media hardly compares to the macromolecularly crowded microenvironments they orignate from. To create conditions that come closer to tissue physiology we have developed low viscosity culture additives comprising mixtures of carbohydrate-based macromolecules that dramatically enhance extracellular matrix deposition and thus enable both differentiated cells and stem cells to build their own complex microenvironments.

Scarring represents an ancient wound repair mechanism that leads to a broad spectrum of tissue disturbances ranging from cosmetic nuisance to organ failure. It also endangers the integration of implanted medical devices and tissue constructs into host tissue by enshrouding them in an avascular fibrotic capsule.

A major hitherto unmet need in tissue engineering is the promotion of vascularization of and into biomaterials to render implanted tissue viable. Some of the antifibrotic compounds have the potential to modulate angiogenesis.