Sekisui Chemical and Nikon Launch Joint Publicly Recruited Research Project to Deepen Organoid Culture Research

Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd. (President and Representative Director: Ikuhiro Shimizu, hereinafter "Sekisui Chemical") has announced the launch of a publicly recruited joint research project in collaboration with Nikon Corporation (Representative Director and President: Yasuhiro Omura, hereinafter "Nikon") with the aim of further developing organoid culture research.

1. Background of the Joint Publicly Recruited Research Project

Organoid culture technology has made remarkable progress in recent years and is expected to be applied in a wide range of fields, including drug discovery and regenerative medicine. For future development, it is necessary to promote research and development related to further cell function and structural control, improvement of culture reproducibility, and reproduction of the in vivo environment. Against this backdrop, Sekisui Chemical and Nikon will widely solicit research themes with the aim of further developing organoid research and deepening technology through joint research.

Based on its accumulated material technology, Sekisui Chemical has developed Ceglu™, a chemically synthesized scaffold material that enables stable culture of pluripotent stem cells, and began sales in 2025. Furthermore, the company is also developing Ceglu™ Dot Plate, which enables the formation of three-dimensional cell aggregates by coating Ceglu™ in microscopic dots. By utilizing these technologies, Sekisui Chemical aims to construct highly functional and highly reproducible organoid culture protocols.

Nikon provides flexible microscopy systems that meet the diverse needs of research institutions and companies with their excellent optical performance and diverse module configurations. They aim to improve the efficiency and accuracy of data acquisition and analysis through cell observation, fluorescence and live-cell imaging, and automated systems incorporating microscopes.

2. Overview of Recruitment

【Research Themes】

Type A Theme: Research on highly functional and highly reproducible organoid culture protocols
Type B Theme: Research on automation and evaluation methods for organoid culture utilizing imaging and analysis technologies
Open Theme: Research that aligns with the purpose of this public recruitment

【Eligibility】

Researchers belonging to universities, research institutions, companies, etc.

【Application Period】

March 19, 2026 (Thursday) ~ May 31, 2026 (Sunday) (Planned)

【Application Method】

For details, please check the following page and submit your application documents

Information Page: https://www.sekisui-cell.jp/news/2026/031801/

3. Roles of the two companies in joint research

Sekisui Chemical: Provision of Ceglu™ Dot Plate, and research and development support utilizing data science technologies centered on image analysis and materials informatics, etc.

Nikon: Provision of imaging opportunities using Nikon's biological microscope systems, and research and development support utilizing image analysis

Sekisui Chemical and Nikon will strengthen their support for organoid researchers and contribute to the academic and industrial development of this field, and the advancement of drug discovery and regenerative medicine.

Related WEB sites: https://www.sekisui-cell.jp/products/ceglu/

Related WEB sites: https://www.microscope.healthcare.nikon.com/ja_JP/

That's all