Question 1

What is Revivocell?

Accepted Answer

Revivocell is a UK-based biotechnology company that builds human microphysiological systems (MPS) for predictive drug safety, efficacy, and multi-organ biology. Our core platform, NANOSTACKS™, enables labs to build physiologically relevant organ models without specialist equipment.

Question 2

Where is Revivocell based?

Accepted Answer

Revivocell is headquartered in the United Kingdom, with commercial partnerships in the US and Europe. We serve pharmaceutical companies, CROs, academic institutions, and AI drug discovery companies globally.

Question 3

What does Revivocell offer — products, services, or both?

Accepted Answer

Revivocell offers both. We sell NANOSTACKS™ hardware and ready-to-use organ model kits for in-house use. We also offer fully managed contract research services where Revivocell scientists design and execute the study in our facility.

Question 4

What is NANOSTACKS™?

Accepted Answer

NANOSTACKS™ is Revivocell's modular microphysiological systems platform. It uses stackable inserts in standard SBS 24-well plate format to build multi-layer organ models. No pumps, no complex microfluidics — just orbital shaking to generate physiological flow.

Question 5

Do I need specialist equipment to use NANOSTACKS™?

Accepted Answer

No. NANOSTACKS™ is designed to integrate into any standard cell culture laboratory. You need a standard incubator, an orbital shaker, and your existing assay equipment. No microfluidic controllers, pumps, or specialist fabrication skills are required.

Question 6

What plate format does NANOSTACKS™ use?

Accepted Answer

NANOSTACKS™ inserts are compatible with standard SBS 24-well plates. This means they integrate directly with existing lab workflows, plate readers, imaging systems, and liquid handlers.

Question 7

How long can cultures be maintained in NANOSTACKS™?

Accepted Answer

Validated culture durations range from 14–28 days depending on the organ model. Extended culture periods are possible for specific disease modeling applications — contact our team to discuss your specific experimental timeline.

Question 8

Is NANOSTACKS™ compatible with my existing assays?

Accepted Answer

Yes. NANOSTACKS™ is compatible with brightfield and fluorescence microscopy, ELISA, qPCR, proteomics, LC-MS/MS metabolomics, and MEA (multielectrode array) electrophysiology. Because it uses standard well formats, most plate-reader-based assays work directly.

Question 9

How should cell types be distributed across layers in NANOSTACKS™?

Accepted Answer

Cell type distribution follows physiological tissue architecture. In the liver model, hepatocytes are positioned on the basal membrane, with sinusoidal endothelial cells and Kupffer cells on the apical surface to recreate the liver sinusoid. Each organ model has a validated default configuration, and custom arrangements can be requested for specific study designs. Refer to the Technology page for layer architecture details.

Question 10

Can NANOSTACKS™ model barrier tissues such as gut or blood-brain barrier?

Accepted Answer

Yes. ALI-Stacks (Air-Liquid Interface inserts) are designed for barrier tissue modeling, including intestinal epithelium and pulmonary epithelium. Brain MPS models incorporate brain endothelial cells arranged to approximate the blood-brain barrier architecture. These configurations support permeability measurements and compound transport studies across defined barriers.

Question 11

What pore sizes are available and how should they be selected?

Accepted Answer

NANOSTACKS™ inserts are available in multiple pore size options to suit different experimental requirements. Smaller pore sizes (e.g., 0.4 µm) restrict cell migration and are suited to tight-barrier models. Larger pore sizes permit cell–cell contact and paracrine signalling across layers. The appropriate pore size depends on the cell types used and whether barrier integrity or crosstalk is the primary experimental endpoint.

Question 12

Can immune cells be incorporated into the system?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Immune cells including Kupffer cells (liver-resident macrophages), microglia (brain), and circulating monocytes can be incorporated as part of standard or custom configurations. Including immune cell populations is important for inflammatory toxicity readouts and for studying immune-mediated drug responses such as idiosyncratic DILI. The tetraculture liver model includes stellate and immune cells as standard.

Question 13

How is compound transport measured across layers?

Accepted Answer

Compound transport across layers can be assessed by sampling basal and apical compartments at defined time points and quantifying compound concentration by LC-MS/MS, ELISA, or fluorescence-based methods. This enables calculation of apparent permeability (Papp) values and transport ratios. For multi-organ systems, transport of parent compound and metabolites between compartments can be tracked to model systemic distribution.

Question 14

Can NANOSTACKS™ support multi-organ pharmacokinetic or IVIVE studies?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Multi-compartment NANOSTACKS™ systems can generate compound transport and metabolism data relevant to in vitro-to-in vivo extrapolation (IVIVE). By connecting liver, gut, and brain compartments in series, it is possible to measure first-pass metabolism, systemic distribution of metabolites, and organ-specific uptake. These datasets can inform physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modelling by providing human-cell-derived intrinsic clearance and permeability parameters.

Question 15

What organ models does Revivocell offer?

Accepted Answer

Revivocell currently offers validated models for Liver MPS (monoculture, triculture, tetraculture), Brain MPS (neuronal co-culture with MEA compatibility), and Multi-Organ MPS systems including liver–brain and liver–kidney axes. Custom organ configurations are available on request.

Question 16

What is the difference between monoculture, triculture, and tetraculture liver MPS?

Accepted Answer

The monoculture model contains hepatocytes only — suitable for basic metabolism and phase I/II enzyme studies. Triculture adds liver sinusoidal endothelial cells and Kupffer cells (immune cells), enabling more physiologically complex DILI assessment. Tetraculture additionally incorporates hepatic stellate cells, enabling fibrosis and chronic toxicity modeling.

Question 17

Can I build a custom multi-organ system?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The NANOSTACKS™ Multi-Organ Builder allows you to design and configure custom organ-axis systems combining up to 4 organ types. Use the interactive builder on the website or contact our team for a bespoke configuration proposal.

Question 18

Are your models validated?

Accepted Answer

Yes. All organ models are validated against reference compounds and published benchmarks. Validation data, application notes, and technical datasheets are available on our Resources page and on request.

Question 19

What is drug-induced liver injury (DILI) and how does Revivocell help detect it?

Accepted Answer

DILI is the leading cause of drug development failure and post-market withdrawal. Standard 2D hepatocyte cultures miss many DILI-causing compounds because they lack the multicellular environment of the liver. Revivocell's Liver MPS models with hepatocytes, endothelial cells, Kupffer cells, and stellate cells provide a significantly more sensitive and human-relevant platform for DILI detection.

Question 20

Can NANOSTACKS™ be used for neurotoxicity testing?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The Brain MPS model supports neuronal co-cultures including neurons, astrocytes, and microglia. The platform is compatible with MEA electrophysiology, enabling functional neurotoxicity assessment — measuring changes in neuronal network activity, not just cell viability. This detects sub-lethal toxicity that viability assays completely miss.

Question 21

What is multi-organ toxicity and why does it matter?

Accepted Answer

Many drugs cause toxic effects not in a single organ, but through systemic mechanisms — for example, a liver metabolite that is toxic to the brain or kidney. Multi-organ MPS systems allow you to culture connected organ models simultaneously, capturing these organ-crosstalk effects that single-organ models cannot detect.

Question 22

How is NANOSTACKS™ relevant to the FDA Modernization Act 2.0?

Accepted Answer

The FDA Modernization Act 2.0 (signed in 2022) removed the requirement for animal testing before human drug trials and explicitly enables MPS and organ-on-chip data as alternatives. NANOSTACKS™ is positioned to provide exactly this type of human-relevant data, supporting regulatory submissions that leverage new approach methodologies (NAMs).

Question 23

When should I use NANOSTACKS™ instead of organoids?

Accepted Answer

Organoids are self-organising 3D structures that model tissue development and morphology but are difficult to standardise, image consistently, or integrate into multi-organ systems. NANOSTACKS™ offers defined, reproducible layer architectures with controlled cell-type composition, making it better suited for quantitative toxicology, compound screening, and multi-organ studies where reproducibility and assay compatibility are priorities.

Question 24

When should I use NANOSTACKS™ instead of Transwells?

Accepted Answer

Standard Transwells support simple two-compartment cultures but lack defined flow conditions, multi-layer stacking, and the ability to recreate physiological shear. NANOSTACKS™ extends the Transwell concept with modular stackability and orbital-shaking-driven flow, enabling more complex, physiologically relevant co-culture architectures while maintaining compatibility with standard plate-based workflows.

Question 25

Is NANOSTACKS™ considered an organ-on-chip system?

Accepted Answer

NANOSTACKS™ is a microphysiological system (MPS) that shares the core goals of organ-on-chip — recreating human tissue function in vitro — but does not use microfluidic chip fabrication. Instead, it uses stackable inserts in standard well plates with orbital shaking. This approach retains the physiological relevance of organ-on-chip while eliminating the equipment and fabrication barriers associated with traditional chip-based systems.

Question 26

What are the limitations of traditional in vitro models?

Accepted Answer

Traditional 2D cell cultures on plastic surfaces lack tissue architecture, multicellular interactions, and dynamic culture conditions. This results in cells that rapidly dedifferentiate, lose organ-specific functions, and fail to recapitulate the complex cellular crosstalk seen in vivo. As a consequence, 2D models frequently underpredict toxicity and overpredict metabolism, contributing to high late-stage drug development failure rates.

Question 27

How can I purchase NANOSTACKS™ products?

Accepted Answer

You can request a quote directly from the website via the Quote Basket or contact our commercial team. We supply to academic institutions, CROs, biotechs, and pharmaceutical companies globally.

Question 28

Do you offer sample packs?

Accepted Answer

Yes. We offer a Sample Pack for labs that want to evaluate NANOSTACKS™ before committing to a full order. Contact us or visit the Products page to request a sample.

Question 29

What format do NANOSTACKS™ products come in?

Accepted Answer

Products are available in 24-pack and 72-pack configurations for both NANOSTACKS™ inserts and ALI-Stacks (for lung/gut epithelial models). Custom quantities and formats are available for larger studies.

Question 30

Can Revivocell run the study for us?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Through our managed research services, Revivocell scientists will design, execute, and report on your study using our validated MPS platform. This is ideal for organizations that want human-relevant data without building internal MPS capability. Contact us to discuss your study.

Question 31

Can NANOSTACKS™ generate training data for AI drug discovery models?

Accepted Answer

Yes. NANOSTACKS™ is well-suited to generating high-quality, human-relevant datasets for training AI/ML models in drug discovery. Our multi-parameter readouts — combining imaging, electrophysiology, metabolomics, and proteomic data — provide rich feature sets for predictive toxicology models.

Question 32

Does Revivocell offer an AI safety profiling service?

Accepted Answer

Yes. In partnership with Digital Ether Computing, Revivocell offers an integrated AI safety profiling service that combines explainable machine learning predictions with NANOSTACKS™ wet-lab validation — providing a closed-loop safety assessment platform.

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