Cardiac Microtissue on Flexible Posts (Force-Readable Format)
Cardiomyocytes cast between two flexible posts or stretchers so that contraction deflects a known geometry and force becomes measurable, sold as plate plus cells rather than as finished tissue.
| Category | Engineered Contractile Tissue |
|---|---|
| Unit | One 48-well casting plate at a specified stretcher stiffness, or one device pack, with cells quoted alongside |
| Lead time | 1-3 weeks for plates and cells from catalogue stock; casting and maturation add a multi-week programme where that work is contracted out |
| Pricing | Published list price |
| Provenance | Partner manufactured |
| Data current | 2026-09-03 |
Description
The post format is what makes contractile force a measurable quantity rather than a qualitative observation. Cells are cast in an ECM hydrogel between two compliant pillars; the tissue compacts, aligns along the axis between them, and every contraction deflects the posts by an amount that can be converted to force if the post stiffness is known. That last clause is the entire commercial story of this category, because post stiffness is the calibration constant and it is a purchasing decision made before any cells are seeded. myriamed sells this as plasticware you can actually reason about: myrPlate is a 48-well SBS-format plate whose stretchers are supplied in six discrete stiffness grades, and myrPlate Gradient puts one row of each stiffness from TM4-MED to TM9-MED on a single plate specifically so a first-time user can find the optimal condition in one run rather than buying six plates to discover it. The stretchers contain a fluorescent dye allowing optical tracing of developed force, so the readout is not instrument-locked. The alternative architecture is Curi Bio's Mantarray, which embeds a magnet in each flexible post tip over giant magnetoresistive sensors and reads all 24 wells in parallel in real time, a better readout, at the cost of a proprietary consumable chain and a capital instrument, with every SKU quote-gated. A third route exists at the bottom of the market in open-top PDMS devices sold at a published per-device price, which give optical and electrode access but leave the force calibration entirely to you. What no vendor sells is the assembled thing: a plate arriving with tissues already formed on posts and a force value on the certificate. This offering brokers plate selection, cell supply and the casting work, and forces the stiffness decision to be made explicitly.
Why this is hard to buy today
Post stiffness is the constant that converts a deflection into a force, and it is fixed at the moment the plate is bought, weeks before anyone knows what stiffness the tissue actually wants. One vendor solved this by selling a plate with six stiffnesses on it, which is a direct admission that first-time buyers cannot specify the parameter correctly, and no other vendor in the category offers an equivalent. A group that buys a single-stiffness plate on a default recommendation and gets it wrong discovers the error only after a full casting and maturation cycle.
Price evidence
myriamed live Shopify products endpoint, observed 2026-09-01, store currency confirmed as EUR via the storefront cart endpoint on the same date. myrPlate Uniform, 48-well SBS casting plate with all stretchers at one stiffness, available in grades TM4-MED, TM5-MED (the supplier's recommended standard), TM6-MED, TM7-MED, TM8-MED and TM9-MED: EUR 270.00 for 1 plate and EUR 2,200.00 for 10 plates (EUR 220.00 each), at every grade. myrPlate Gradient, one row of each stiffness from TM4-MED to TM9-MED on a single plate: EUR 330.00 for 1 plate and EUR 2,650.00 for 10 (EUR 265.00 each). Stretchers contain a fluorescent dye for optical tracing of developed force. Matched cells, same source and date: myrCell-Cardio WT, catalogue 02-1001-0010, human iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes from the W001 wild-type line, EUR 750.00 per 1 million cells, shipped in liquid nitrogen. Finished anchored tissue from the same vendor for the make-versus-buy comparison: myrTissue-Cardio WT EUR 1,400.00 for 1 tissue and EUR 8,000.00 for 12. Open-top device route, eNUVIO live WooCommerce Store API observed 2026-09-01: OMEGA-MP 3D Skeletal Muscle Culture Device, catalogue eN-omp-001, $440.00 USD for 4 devices giving 8 experiments, which is $55.00 per experiment; Live Cell Microscopy Adapter eN-acclco2-001 $105.00; Microscopy Adapter eN-accma-001 $80.00. Curi Bio publishes no price for the Mantarray instrument, plate kit, stimulation kit or any consumable, and every SKU is request-a-quote as at 2026-09-01.
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 | Post or stretcher stiffness grade, which is the force calibration constant and cannot be changed after purchase |
| 02 | Whether a stiffness screen is needed first, which is what the gradient plate format exists for |
| 03 | Force readout method: optical tracing of a fluorescent stretcher, magnetic sensing on an instrument, or your own imaging |
| 04 | Cell source, line and number of cells per tissue |
| 05 | ECM composition and hydrogel stiffness |
| 06 | Tissue geometry and cross-sectional area, without which no specific force can be derived |
| 07 | Electrical pacing requirement during maturation and at readout |
| 08 | Whether casting is done in-house or contracted, and who owns failed casts |
| 09 | Plate format compatibility with existing imaging or plate-reader hardware |
Quality documentation
Typically available with this item. What actually ships is confirmed on the quotation, per supplier.
- Supplier certificate of analysis for the cells
- Plate-level manufacturing specification including stated stretcher stiffness grade
- Tissue formation success rate, to be contracted explicitly where casting is outsourced
- Viability at release
- Force measurement is NOT included in any catalogue product in this category and must be contracted separately
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 |
|---|---|
| myriamed | Public Shopify products endpoint queried live 2026-09-01 returning variant-level SKUs and EUR prices for myrPlate Uniform across all six stiffness grades at both pack sizes, and for myrPlate Gradient. Product pages confirm 48-well SBS format, six stretcher stiffness grades TM4-MED to TM9-MED with TM5-MED as the recommended standard, gradient plate carrying one row of each stiffness, and fluorescent dye in the stretchers for optical force tracing. |
| Curi Bio | Instrument plus 24-well casting plate kit, Stimulation Kit lid, MantaReady media and cell lines, with a claimed tissue formation success rate above 95 percent. Force readout by a magnet in each flexible post tip over giant magnetoresistive sensors, real-time and automated across all 24 wells in parallel. Mini Plates stated to reduce tissue volume by up to 60 percent and use up to 50 percent fewer cells. Every SKU is request-a-quote. |
| eNUVIO | Public WooCommerce Store API queried live 2026-09-01. OMEGA-MP returns a live USD price per 4-device pack with open-top chambers giving optical and electrode access. Force calibration is left entirely to the user. |
| FUJIFILM Cellular Dynamics (iCell) | Publishes 'From $' list pricing per iCell SKU and documents a cardiac tri-culture microtissue application. Price validity is stated for the US and Europe only and a product restrictions page limits use of some SKUs to provide services to third parties, which must be checked before a service business builds on them. |
Sources
doc WW-CT-70219 · rev 2026-09-03 · research use only · prices indicative and not binding until quoted in writing