News
14-September 2010 – LGC
Standards partners with Reinnervate to bring ec23® to
life science
researchers
ec23 enables consistent and reliable differentiation of
stem cells to neurons
LGC
Standards is delighted to announce the addition of ec23®, a
stable synthetic retinoid used for stem cell differentiation, to
its portfolio of life science research and drug discovery products.
ec23 is a proprietary molecule designed by the scientists at
Reinnervate, an innovative life
sciences company, who have agreed an arrangement with LGC Standards
for the distribution of ec23 to scientists across Europe.
A synthetic molecule, ec23 is designed to mediate the controlled
and reproducible differentiation of cells in culture. ec23 has been
shown to be a potent inducer of neurogenesis and is entirely stable
enabling it to modulate cell differentiation predictably and
consistently. With many other naturally occurring retinoids
degradation over time and on exposure to light leads to
difficulties in assessing the concentration that researchers need
to use in their cell differentiation experiments, a problem that is
eliminated through the use of ec23, which for ease of use, is
supplied in a clear glass vial.
Jeffrey Anthony, Manager of the Biologicals and Life Sciences
business at LGC Standards commented: We are particularly pleased to
add the first of Reinnervate’s proprietary small molecules to our
range of life science research products. The ease of use,
reproducibility and consistency of results available with ec23
should offer researchers some real advantages over currently
available retinoic acids such as ATRA for example. We are looking
forward to the expansion of Reinnervate’s small molecule portfolio
and to making these innovative products available to the life
science research community.
Professor Stefan Przyborski, Reinnervate’s Chief Scientific
Officer, said: “The ability to control the development of cells and
tissues in a predictable way is a major challenge in stem cell
biology. Researchers require molecules that induce reliable and
reproducible biological activity resulting in consistent modes of
cell differentiation. This is especially important where
reproduction of cell behaviour is required, for example, the
consistent differentiation of neurons from stem cells for use in
drug development and toxicity screening. During its development,
ec23 demonstrated clearly its potential in this area and we are
therefore very pleased to make it available more widely to
researchers in both academia and industry.”
- Ends -
Notes to
editors