Introduction

The PuraMatrix™ hydrogel peptide is new synthetic material discovered by Dr. Shuguang Zhang at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1992. 3DM Inc, was founded in Boston, USA in 2001 and began commercial distribution of PuraMatrix™ with BD Biosciences, inc. 3D-Matrix, Ltd(formerely known as 3D-Matrix Japan, Ltd) was founded in May 2004 and acquired 3DM, inc (MA, USA) in October 2007. With this acquisition, 3D-Matrix, Ltd obtained worldwide commercialization rights of the peptide scaffold.

PuraMatrix™ is fully synthetic and devoid of animal-derived materials and pathogens with no risk of infection. The nano-fiber structure resembles that of natural collagen with fiber diameter of 5-10nm and enables cell proliferation equivalent to that within collagen. Within PuraMatrix™, cells demonstrate greater proliferation than any other synthetic scaffold, such as PGA. PuraMatrix™ can be adopted in diverse applications such as tissue regeneration (e.g. bone filling, wound healing), cell therapies and drug delivery system. GMP grade products have been developed and it is expected to enter into a clinical trial for dental bone regeneration in 2008.