Human protein-based biomaterials facilitate the development of preclinical models that integrate predictive value and ethical responsibility. Metatissue uses decellularized extracellular matrix from placenta samples and human blood to create tunable, xeno-free substrates for 3D cell culture, minimizing the reliance on animal models and accelerating translational research.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 digital issues and online access to articles
$119.00 per year
only $9.92 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to the full article PDF.
USD 39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Dowden, H. & Munro, J. Trends in clinical success rates and therapeutic focus. Nat. Rev. Drug Discov. 18, 495–496 (2019).
Wouters, O. J., McKee, M. & Luyten, J. Estimated research and development investment needed to bring a new medicine to market, 2009-2018. JAMA 323, 844–853 (2020).
Council of the European Union. Summary Report on the Statistics on the Use of Animals for Scientific Purposes in the Member States of the European Union and Norway (2020) (2023).
Ewart, L. et al. Performance assessment and economic analysis of a human Liver-Chip for predictive toxicology. Commun. Med. 2, 154 (2022).
3D Cell Culture Market (4th Edition), 2022–2035 (Roots Analysis, 2023).
Delabie, W. et al. Human platelet lysate standardization across three independent European blood establishments. Stem Cell Res. Ther. 16, 329 (2025).
Santos, S. C., Custódio, C. A. & Mano, J. F. Photopolymerizable platelet lysate hydrogels for customizable 3D cell culture platforms. Adv. Healthc. Mater. 7, 1800849 (2018).
Mano, J. F., Custódio, C. A., Santos, S. C. & Deus, I. A. Human placental membrane based hydrogel composition, processes and uses thereof. WIPO patent WO2021019515A1 (2021).
Monteiro, C. F., Almeida, C. R., Custódio, C. A. & Mano, J. F. Modeling 3D tumor invasiveness to modulate macrophage phenotype in a human-based hydrogel platform. Macromol. Biosci. 70, 2400227 (2024).
Hargrove-Grimes, P., Low, L. A. & Tagle, D. A. Microphysiological systems: stakeholder challenges to adoption in drug development. Cells Tissues Organs 211, 269–281 (2022).
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the European Research Council for project ‘REBORN’ (ERC-2019-AdG-883370) and CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials: UIDB/50011/2020, UIDP/50011/2020, & LA/P/ 0006/2020, financed by national funds through FCT/MEC (PIDDAC). C.A.C. and M.D. acknowledge the support from FCT, Lisbon, Portugal on DOI 10.54499/2020.01647.CEECIND/CP1589/CT0034, awarded to C.A.C. and M.D. PhD grant with the reference 2025.01150.BDANA.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
C.A.C. and J.F.M. are co-founders of Metatissue. M.D. reports no competing interests.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dias, M., Custódio, C.A. & Mano, J.F. Human protein-based biomaterials in preclinical modelling. Nat Rev Bioeng (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44222-026-00425-7
Published:
Version of record:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44222-026-00425-7
