VitroGel® EMT

Xeno-free hydrogel that supports spheroid formation, tumoroid culture, and uniquely enables EMT biology

Full xeno-free EMT kit available. Click here

VitroGel® EMT

Ready-to-use hydrogel for spheroid formation, tumoroid culture, and uniquely enables EMT biology

VitroGel® EMT is a fully defined, xeno-free hydrogel engineered as a protocol-compatible alternative to low-concentration Matrigel® (5%) for spheroid, tumoroid, and organoid formation.

Designed to integrate seamlessly into existing workflows without requiring protocol modifications, VitroGel® EMT enables researchers to transition away from animal-derived matrices while maintaining robust 3D culture performance.

Beyond supporting reproducible spheroid generation, VitroGel® EMT provides a controlled microenvironment for epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) studies, enabling researchers to investigate tumor progression, invasion, metastasis, and therapeutic response with greater experimental consistency.

As part of a scalable 3D culture platform, VitroGel® EMT supports applications ranging from model development and disease biology to high-throughput drug screening and translational research.

Specifications

FormulationXeno-free, biofunctional hydrogel
Usespheroid formation, tumoroid culture, and uniquely enables EMT biology
OperationReady-to-use at room temperature
InjectionInjectable hydrogel for in vivo studies and lab automation
pHNeutral
StorageStore at 2-8°C. Ships at ambient temperature
Sizes10 mL and 2 mL
Challenges We Solve

Challenges when using animal-based ECM

What VitroGel® EMT delivers

Protocols and Resources

  VitroGel® EMT hydrogel – Protocol

Product Documentation

 VitroGel®  EMT hydrogel – Sale Sheet

 Product Data Sheet

 Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS)

Frequently Asked Questions 

Data and References

Multi-step lab protocol showing cell culture: seeding cells, adding reagents, incubating, staining, and imaging with a microscope.

CASE 1

3D Tumoroid formation: VitroGel® EMT vs. Matrigel

Panel of microscope images showing cell spheroids in hydrogel at days D1, D5, D8, D13, D15, D18, and D25 (top row with VitroGel header). Scale bar 1000 µm.

Figure 1: GBM tumoroid development in VitroGel® EMT hydrogel system. U87-MG GBM cells (1 x 106 cells/mL) were resuspended in basal medium with supplements. 20 µL of cell suspension was added to the VitroPrime™ Ultra-Low Attachment, U-Bottom, 96-Well Plate and incubated overnight at 37°C. VitroGel® EMT hydrogel was mixed with RocketCell™ GBM Xeno-Free EMT supplement in a 1:1 ratio, and 40 µL of the mixture was added to the cultures. The hydrogel was incubated at room temperature for 15 minutes. A 100 µL of basal medium with supplements was added on top of the hydrogels. In parallel, Matrigel was diluted 1:10 with basal medium containing FBS. The cultures were incubated at 37°C. Tumoroid growth was monitored for 25 days and evaluated using a Zeiss microscope.

CASE 2

Evaluation Viability of GBM Tumoroids

Figure 2: VitroGel® Glioblastoma Xeno-Free EMT kit hydrogel sustains tumoroid growth and viability.

GBM tumoroids were subjected to cell viability staining using Cyto3D® Live-Dead Assay Kit after six weeks in culture. Live cells within the tumoroid are shown in green, and dead cells are shown in red. ​

CASE 3

Tumoroids grown with the VitroGel® Glioblastoma Xeno-Free EMT Kit
as a Platform for Drug Screening

Figure 3: GBM tumoroids are susceptible to chemotherapy.

Tumoroids were grown for 3 days in VitroGel® EMT hydrogel with RocketCell™ supplement ​system. The tumoroids were treated with Temozolomide (TMZ; 1mM) for 24 hours and subjected to cell viability studies. The Cyto3D® Live-Dead Assay Kit was used to label live cells (green) and dead cells (red) in the tumoroid, both with and without drug treatment. The pictures were obtained at a 20X magnification.

CASE 4

Tumoroid Characterization: Evaluation of EMT Markers

Figure 4: Assessing Vimentin expression, an EMT marker, in GBM tumoroids.

Immunofluorescence staining was employed on three-week-old tumoroids to examine ​Vimentin expression. The nuclei were stained with DAPI (blue), and vimentin was stained green. A. Representative image of tumoroid topology and size (4X magnification). B-C. Enlarged images of vimentin-positive regions obtained with a confocal microscope at 10X magnification.

Resources

Webinar
Developing Robust Three-Dimensional Tumoroid Models with the VitroGel® Glioblastoma Xeno-Free EMT Kit

Poster
Discerning the Role of the Extracellular Matrix on Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition and Invasiveness of Glioblastoma Multiforme using a Xeno-Free 3D Hydrogel System

Poster
Developing Advanced Tumoroid Models Driven by Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition with a Novel Xeno-Free and Biofunctional Hydrogel System

Size

2 mL, 10 mL