Tumor size/weight can be affected by many factors. Our hydrogel is pure synthetic, xeno-free, so it only supports cells without affecting their growth. If you compare it with Matrigel since it’s animal-based, this matrix has a lot of unknown components and growth factors that directly affect cell growth, so it’s not weird that tumor growth can be slower with VitroGelĀ® in contrast to Matrigel. Some things can be tested:
- Increase the number of cells injected to promote cell growth and, thus, make tumor growth faster.
- Make the gel stronger (by putting it on ice for 10-15 min) before injection. This will help cells stay together after injection, which makes cells grow faster. You can also test our VitroGelĀ® RGD and make a 1:1 or 1:2 dilution to make a stronger gel.
- If you are using growth factors/FBS in the cell suspension to be injected, increasing the supplements or growth factors to 5X can help cells grow faster.