Air-Liquid Interface Bronchial & Nasal Airway Tissue
Ready-to-use pseudostratified, ciliated, mucus-producing human airway epithelium on inserts, specified by anatomical region and donor pathology.
| Category | Ready-to-Use 3D Tissue Models |
|---|---|
| Unit | One insert, or one kit of inserts at the supplier's defined kit size |
| Lead time | 2-6 weeks against the supplier's production calendar; longer where a named donor pathology or mutation must be sourced |
| Pricing | Published list price |
| Provenance | Partner manufactured |
| Data current | 2026-09-03 |
Description
Differentiated human airway epithelium grown at an air-liquid interface on a permeable insert, delivered living and ready to dose. Epithelix is the reference supplier and is not currently represented anywhere in this catalogue despite being cited across our airway coverage. Its MucilAir model is reconstituted from nasal, tracheal or bronchial cells and contains basal progenitor, goblet and ciliated cells; SmallAir models the bronchiolar region after the fifth airway division and is distinguished by abundant CC10-positive club cells with goblet cells only in low proportion, a difference the supplier backs with a western blot showing CC10 detected in SmallAir and not in MucilAir. Both are built solely from low-passage P1 human primary cells under ethical approval and donor consent, both carry a certificate of analysis with donor information and QC results, and production has been GIVIMP certified since 2023 (MucilAir produced since 2006, SmallAir since 2017). The commercially important property is shelf life: Epithelix states MucilAir sits in a stable homeostatic state for several months and even up to a year, and SmallAir for several months, against the four-day usable window typical of epidermal tissue. Donor pathology is a specifiable field rather than a marketing line: MucilAir is offered from healthy non-smoker, healthy smoker, COPD, asthmatic, cystic fibrosis (several mutations) and allergic rhinitis donors, SmallAir from the same panel excluding cystic fibrosis. Pooled variants exist with different donor counts, and the pooling is not symmetric: MucilAir Pool nasal is built from 14 donors, while MucilAir Pool bronchial is stated to be used solely for test services at Epithelix and is therefore not purchasable as tissue at all. Epithelix publishes no price and directs all orders to an email quotation. A verified public price does exist one tier down the fidelity ladder: Cell Applications sells a 3D Airway Model of primary human bronchial epithelial cells differentiated on PCF sitting inserts at an air-liquid interface, live-priced on its store API. Wetware World's role is region and donor specification, cross-supplier comparison between the quote-gated premium models and the publicly priced alternative, and consolidating tissue with its matched medium.
Why this is hard to buy today
Anatomical region is the field that decides whether the study answers the question, and the supplier product names actively obscure it: MucilAir spans nasal, tracheal and bronchial as one SKU family while SmallAir is a separate bronchiolar model, so a buyer who orders on the word 'airway' can receive perfectly healthy tissue from the wrong part of the lung. Worse, one variant in the range, MucilAir Pool bronchial, is stated to be available solely for test services at the supplier and cannot be bought as tissue at all, which is discoverable only by reading the individual product page.
Price evidence
Cell Applications 3D Airway Model, primary human bronchial epithelial cells differentiated to pseudostratified epithelium on PCF sitting inserts: 502K-3D total kit $769.00; 502-3D-12, 12 sitting inserts, $848.00; 502-3D-24, 24 sitting inserts, $1,494.00, which is $62.25 per insert at the 24-insert size (live WooCommerce Store API, observed 2026-09-01). Epithelix publishes no price for MucilAir, SmallAir or their pooled variants and directs all orders to an email quotation; the Epithelix models are therefore unpriced and the Cell Applications figures are an adjacent verified price for a different product, not a price for MucilAir. No figure of any kind is derived here from a federal contract record. Related input cells carry live public prices at Cell Applications, observed 2026-09-01: human bronchial epithelial cells HBEpC $888.00, asthma donor $1,129.00, COPD donor $1,234.00; human small airway epithelial cells HSAEpC $893.00, asthma donor $1,116.00.
These are supplier list prices we located and recorded, not a quotation from Wetware World. Your price depends on quantity, specification and freight, and is only binding once issued in writing.
What you must specify
A quote cannot be produced without these. Anything you leave open, a supplier will assume, usually expensively.
| # | Parameter |
|---|---|
| 01 | Anatomical region (nasal / tracheal / bronchial / bronchiolar), which is the single most consequential field |
| 02 | Single donor or pooled, and the donor count if pooled |
| 03 | Donor pathology (healthy non-smoker, healthy smoker, COPD, asthmatic, cystic fibrosis with named mutation, allergic rhinitis) |
| 04 | Whether fibroblast or macrophage co-culture is required |
| 05 | Number of inserts and insert diameter |
| 06 | Required culture longevity after delivery |
| 07 | Medium variant and whether antibiotics are included |
| 08 | TEER and cilia beating frequency acceptance values to be stated on the certificate of analysis |
| 09 | Destination and whether the supplier has previously validated delivery to it |
Quality documentation
Typically available with this item. What actually ships is confirmed on the quotation, per supplier.
- Certificate of analysis per batch with donor information and QC results
- Barrier integrity by transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER)
- Cilia beating frequency, which Epithelix states is part of MucilAir and SmallAir release QC
- Histological confirmation of cell-type composition per supplier datasheet
- Sterility and pathogen screening per supplier protocol
Candidate suppliers
Organisations we have identified as capable. Listing does not imply a partnership, an endorsement, or that they have agreed to quote.
| Organisation | Basis for inclusion |
|---|---|
| Epithelix | MucilAir, SmallAir and their pooled variants fetched live 2026-09-01. Confirms nasal/tracheal/bronchial region selection, basal/goblet/ciliated composition, low-passage P1 primary cells, GIVIMP certification since 2023, production since 2006, certificate of analysis with donor information, TEER and cilia beating frequency as release QC, stable homeostatic state for several months up to a year, and routine shipping to Europe, America and Asia. The FAQ directs ordering to email for a quote or availability. No price published anywhere on the site. |
| Epithelix (SmallAir) | Fetched live 2026-09-01. Bronchiolar region after the fifth airway division; basal, club (CC10-positive, abundant), ciliated and goblet cells in low proportion; CC10 detected by western blot in SmallAir and not detected in MucilAir; produced since 2017; donor panel healthy non-smoker, healthy smoker, COPD, asthmatic and allergic rhinitis, with cystic fibrosis not listed for this model. No price. |
| Cell Applications Inc | Public WooCommerce Store API queried live 2026-09-01. 3D Airway Model is a variable product with three sizes at stated SKUs and USD prices; the product description confirms primary HBEpC differentiated to a pseudostratified epithelium on PCF sitting inserts at an air-liquid interface. |
| MatTek (Sartorius) | EpiAirway, EpiNasal and EpiAlveolar sit in the same fixed-format ALI insert class and are shipped living on a weekly production cadence. No public price; retained here as a second quote channel for comparison against Epithelix. |
Sources
- https://www.epithelix.com/products/mucilair
- https://www.epithelix.com/products/smallair
- https://www.epithelix.com/products/mucilair-pool-nasal
- https://www.epithelix.com/products/mucilair-pool-bronchial
- https://www.epithelix.com/faq
- https://cellapplications.com/product/3d-airway-model/
- https://www.usaspending.gov/award/CONT_AWD_W81XWH10P0740_9700_-NONE-_-NONE-
- https://mattek.com/productcategory/human-tissue-models
doc WW-TM-68053 · rev 2026-09-03 · research use only · prices indicative and not binding until quoted in writing