Hydrolyzed protein serum replacement for cell culture
This technology provides a recipe for replacing animal blood serum—specifically fetal bovine serum—in the liquid medium used to grow cells in a laboratory. It uses hydrolyzed proteins (proteins broken down into smaller peptide fragments) combined with other defined ingredients to mimic the growth-promoting signals that serum normally provides. The result is a chemically defined, animal-free alternative that can support the growth of bacteria, yeast, fungi, and mammalian cells. This matters because animal serum is expensive, variable batch-to-batch, and increasingly scrutinized for ethical and regulatory reasons.
What you could build
A commercial serum-free or serum-replacement cell culture media product sold to biopharmaceutical manufacturers, cell therapy developers, and research labs; buyers would include CDMOs, vaccine producers, and academic core facilities seeking animal-component-free (ACF) or chemically defined media.
Who in Virginia should care
Virginia-based CDMOs, vaccine manufacturers (e.g., operations near the NIIMBL hub), and university research cores conducting cell culture work would be natural early adopters or licensing partners.
Readiness: Concept
Concept — described but not yet demonstrated. Lab validated — supported by experimental results in the patent. Prototype likely — the text describes a built, working embodiment.
Readiness is inferred from the patent text, not from a lab visit.
The record
- Inventors
- Reza Ovissipour, Alexandrea Duscher, Inayat Batish, Mohammad Zarei
- Filed
- Patent pending — filed May 10, 2024
- Status
- Application
- Publication number
- US20250043240A1
Ready to talk?
Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties handles licensing for this technology.
Prosim summaries are generated from public patent text and are not legal advice.