Welcome to BrainMix
Simple Culture for Advanced Brain Tissue Models
Revolutionising Neuroscience Research with an Easy, Cost-Effective, and Ethical Brain Model
Who we are
Advancing Neuroscience with Innovation and Impact
We are a team of neuroscientists from Keele University’s Neural Tissue Engineering Group, exploring the market potential of our frozen, mixed brain cell kit through the BBSRC-NC3Rs-ICURe programme.
Our goal is to provide a cost-effective, biologically relevant alternative to animal models and monocellular cultures, making complex brain research more accessible and scalable for academia, CROs, and the pharmaceutical industry.
Introducing BrainMix
The Challenge in Brain Research
Understanding and repairing the brain is a major challenge in research, largely due to its complex cellular interactions. However, researchers struggle to access brain models that are both user-friendly and biologically representative.
Current research options have significant limitations:
Animal Models
Expensive, technically demanding, and require specialist infrastructure, licensing, and ethical approval. Genetic models add further complexity, and excess animals from breeding programs often go to waste.
Immortalised Cell Lines
Lack multicellularity and often contain genetic abnormalities, making them unreliable for biological assays. Issues with contamination and unknown provenance further compromise research validity.
Primary Cells
Costly, time-intensive, and require technical expertise for isolation. Commercial options only offer single-cell types, failing to replicate the brain’s complex neuroarchitecture.
Our Solution
BrainMix is a ready-to-use frozen brain cell kit that enables researchers to easily establish complex, multicellular brain models in their own labs—without the need for specialist expertise or infrastructure. Simply thaw, revive and plate to start your cell culture experiments
One frozen vial (frozen for 7 days) can be thawed and plated resulting in a brain cell sheet consisting of multiple brain cell types
Why Choose BrainMix?
Brain-Mimetic
Contains all major brain cell types, including immune cells creating a realistic multicellular environment for more accurate data.
Easy & Quick
Takes just 1-2 hours to establish, compared to a full day of tissue derivation and culture setup.
Cost-Effective
Up to 5x cheaper than sourcing and combining individual cell types.
Reduces Animal Use
A viable alternative to live animal models, supporting ethical research.
Versatile
Future kits could be tailored for different brain regions, ages, and genetic models, expanding research possibilities.
Transforming Brain Research Across Sectors
BrainMix is designed to support cutting-edge research in academia, contract research organisations (CROs), and the pharmaceutical industry by providing a biologically relevant, scalable, and cost-effective alternative to traditional brain models.
Academic Research and Education
A ready-to-use, physiologically relevant brain model for advanced neuroscience research without extensive training and complex protocols. Beneficial for student projects through to large-scale research.
Contract Research Organisations (CROs)
A high-throughput, reproducible brain cell platform for efficient preclinical drug testing and toxicology studies.
Pharmaceutical & Biotech Companies
A scalable, cost-effective alternative to animal models for early-stage drug discovery and neurotherapeutic development.
Help Shape the Future of Brain Research
We are conducting a market exploration survey to better understand the needs of researchers like you. Your feedback will help us refine BrainMix and ensure it delivers maximum value.
The Experts Behind BrainMix
Dr Chris Adams
Professor Divya Maitreyi Chari
Dr Tim Hammonds
Dr Jacob Ranjbar
Join Our Research Network
Interested in learning more about BrainMix, collaborating, or getting involved? We’d love to hear from you!