Organoids, SC-Islets, & Embryoids
Generate and differentiate complex 3D cultures at scale with controlled aggregate sizing and homogeneous, low-shear mixing.
Precise Control Over Complex 3D Differentiation
Organoid and stem cell (SC)-islet workflows require gentle mixing, consistent mass transfer, and control over 3D structure. Vertical-Wheel® Bioreactors provide a homogeneous, low-shear environment that supports controlled aggregate size and reproducible differentiation in suspension, all in the same vessel.
Homogeneous mixing yields narrow aggregate and organoid size distributions, the critical quality attribute for reproducible, efficient differentiation.
A rare combination of low shear for high viability with effective dispersion, so growth factors and cytokines diffuse uniformly through every organoid.
Multi-week protocols run start-to-finish in suspension and scale linearly: a 5x volume increase can deliver 12x more islets with no compromise in quality.
Aggregate, Embryoid Body, or Organoid
These 3D structures are not interchangeable. They differ in differentiation state, organization, and intended use—but each benefits from the controlled suspension environment of the Vertical-Wheel® that supports consistent formation and growth.
A high quality, compact 3D cluster of pluripotent stem cells is the key to any differentiation workflow.
A differentiating 3D structure containing derivatives of the three germ layers, often used to model early development or initiate downstream differentiation.
A self-organizing 3D structure differentiated from pluripotent stem cells to reproduce selected structural or functional characteristics of a target tissue.
Cells isolated from adult tissue and re-aggregated into functional constructs such as hepatic seed constructs for liver therapeutics.
From Therapeutics to Functional Models
Explore workflows spanning stem-cell-derived islets, organoids, embryoid bodies, disease models, and drug-screening applications.
Expert Application Support- Insulin-Producing SC-islets
- Liver Organoids
- Brain & Cerebellar Organoids
- Retinal Organoids
- Blood-Vessel Organoids
- Embryoids (EBs)
- Disease Modeling
- Drug & Tox Screening
The Therapy or the Model
SC-derived 3D constructs can serve as the therapeutic product itself or as physiologically relevant models for disease research, drug development, and toxicology. Vertical-Wheel® Bioreactors enable both workflows in an almost endless array of possibilities.
iPSC-derived islet therapy for type 1 diabetes
Run multi-stage iPSC expansion and islet differentiation directly in Vertical-Wheel suspension, from PSCs through glucose-responsive SC-islets.
Disease modeling & drug testing
Create physiologically relevant 3D models for disease research, toxicology, and drug development while controlling key culture conditions that influence organoid maturation and organization.
Setting the Standard, Together
PBS Biotech is a member of the Organoid COMMONS, a pre-competitive public-private consortium working to advance standards for how iPSC-derived organoids are manufactured, measured, and characterized.
By contributing scalable suspension bioprocessing expertise, PBS Biotech is helping establish more reproducible workflows for organoid development and manufacturing.
Unity
A collaborative effort bringing together expertise in cell sourcing, defined microenvironments, scalable manufacturing, and analytical characterization.
Standardization
Greater standardization and reproducibility will help organoid models become more useful across research, development, and emerging regulatory applications.
Scale
Vertical-Wheel technology provides a scalable suspension platform spanning 60mL to 80L for translating organoid workflows from development toward larger-volume manufacturing.
The Organoid COMMONS is a public-private consortium organized by Pluristyx, working across founding members in iPSC sourcing, defined microenvironments, and scalable manufacturing and analytics.
Data Behind 3D Differentiation
Application notes, protocols and peer-reviewed data with tangible results in Vertical-Wheel® Bioreactors, leading with the studies that show real numbers.
This guide collects and summarizes process parameters from successful experiments performed in Vertical-Wheel® bioreactors, across a variety of cell types including pluripotent stem cells, mesenchymal stem/stromal cells, exosomes and extracellular vesicles, organoids, and immune cells. Find the publication or resource most relevant to your own experiment to help with your process development.
This publication reports a fully suspended process for expansion and six-stage differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells into stem cell-derived islets in 0.1 L and 0.5 L Vertical-Wheel® Bioreactors. A fivefold increase in vessel volume produced a twelvefold increase in islet-equivalent yield without compromising islet structure. The 27-day process generated endocrine populations expressing ?-, ?-, and ?-cell markers with glucose-responsive insulin secretion and transcriptomic characteristics approaching adult islets. The study also evaluated donor-derived iPSC lines, cellular…
This brochure introduces the PBS-0.5 Vertical-Wheel® PSC Perfusion Vessel, an integrated perfusion solution for pluripotent stem cell aggregate cultures and other large-particle processes. Continuous medium exchange through an integrated retention filter can support aggregate homogeneity, reduce manual handling, and enable downstream differentiation workflows. Comparative data show tighter aggregate-size distributions and smaller average aggregate diameters with perfusion than settlement-based medium exchange. The brochure also covers scalability, equipment compatibility, ordering…
This poster integrates high-density working cell banks with a computer-controlled parallel Vertical-Wheel® Bioreactor system for human induced pluripotent stem cell process development. Banks generated through three-dimensional expansion were thawed directly into suspension, reducing multiple adherent seed-train stages before differentiation. Post-thaw cultures maintained reproducible growth, OCT4 expression, normal karyotype, and functional pluripotency. The scale-down system provided dissolved oxygen and carbon dioxide control, perfusion feeding, and manufacturing-relevant hydrodynamics.…
This poster presents a three-dimensional process for linear scale-up of human induced pluripotent stem cell expansion from 0.1 to 80 L in Vertical-Wheel® Bioreactors. Cultures maintained growth, aggregate sphericity, pluripotency, karyotype, and functional pluripotency across scales. Serial aggregate culture and scalable harvest, concentration, and cryopreservation generated high-density working cell banks that retained viability, growth, genomic stability, and differentiation competence after thaw. The banks supported shortened endocrine, islet-like, and cardiomyocyte workflows through…
This user manual provides instructions for setting up, calibrating, and operating the PBS 0.5 Mini Vessel with a 60 µm perfusion filter. It covers required materials, pump configuration, vessel preparation, tubing installation, medium exchange, perfusion initiation, and routine operation. Step-by-step procedures address feed and waste management, flow-rate verification, troubleshooting, and maintenance. The manual serves as a practical reference for implementing continuous medium exchange and perfusion workflows within the PBS-MINI platform while maintaining controlled, sterile operation.
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