Matthew Gibson
@labgibson.bsky.social
Chair of Sustainable Biomaterials (glycoscience, ice and polymers) in Department of Chemistry and and Institute of Biotechnology, University of Manchester. Co-founder @Cryologyx
Materials science
20%
Biology
20%
Pinned
Matthew Gibson
@labgibson.bsky.social
· May 8
2025 MacroGroup Annual Symposia and Medal Lectures
Get ready for two jam-packed days of talks, discussions, and prestigious medal lectures at the 2025 MacroGroup Annual Symposia!
www.eventbrite.co.uk
Registration is now open for the Annual MacroGroupUK Symposia and Medal Award Lectures, hosted @uommib.bsky.social 8/9th September. Fabulous line up of speakers. Thanks to sponsors, we have poster prizes and low registration including all refreshments .
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/2025-macro...
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/2025-macro...
Cryopreservation of Avian Erythrocytes Using Macromolecular Cryoprotectants
Erythrocyte (red blood cell) cryopreservation is an essential biotechnology for healthcare (transfusions), diagnostics, conservation, and fundamental research. Mature mammalian erythrocytes are anucleate, do not divide, and cannot undertake protein biosynthesis. In contrast, avian erythrocytes have a distinct evolutionary pathway, retaining their nucleus, and are capable of other limited functions, such as protein biosynthesis, but have a shorter shelf life than mammalian erythrocytes. Here, we report the successful cryopreservation of avian red blood cells using a polyampholyte (macromolecular cryoprotectant), which can reduce intracellular ice formation. Under optimized conditions with 10% DMSO and 60 mg·mL–1 of polyampholyte, ∼90% recovery could be achieved, outperforming a conventional glycerol-based formulation, especially when longer-term storage (up to 6 months) was tested. Scanning electron microscopy confirmed that the cells’ morphology was retained. Confocal fluorescence microscopy showed reduced apoptosis compared to glycerol cryopreservation and confirmed increased recovery of actin (cytoskeleton) polymerization post-thaw. Overall, these results show the potential of macromolecular cryoprotectants to be deployed in nonhuman cryobiology for animal health and potentially species conservation.
pubs.acs.org
Our latest work, showing cryopreservation of Avian red blood cells using our macromolecular cryoprotectants is out now!
pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....
pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Matthew I. Gibson
🎉 Read our latest RSC Applied Polymers blog in which @labgibson.bsky.social and Natalia Gonzalez-Martinez discuss their article ‘Cryopreservation and post-thaw differentiation of monocytes enabled by macromolecular cryoprotectants which restrict intracellular ice formation‘
blogs.rsc.org/lp/202...
blogs.rsc.org/lp/202...
Reposted by Matthew I. Gibson
Andy Cooper
@aicooper.bsky.social
· Dec 3
Jobs | Job Search | Job Vacancies on jobs.ac.uk
Start your UK & international job search for academic jobs, research jobs, science jobs and managerial jobs in leading universities and top...
jobs.ac.uk
Would you like to be our Head of Department? A unique opportunity to guide some important developments (see e.g., news.liverpool.ac.uk/2025/11/18/u...). Advert now live on jobs.ac.uk.
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPQ019/p...
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPQ019/p...
Reposted by Matthew I. Gibson
Blood on demand: New freezing method slashes thaw time for emergency blood transfusions
A transformative new method for freezing human red blood cells has been developed by researchers from the Universities of Manchester and Leeds.
medicalxpress.com
A new cryopreservation method using polyampholytes, DMSO, and trehalose significantly reduces thaw time for red blood cells, supporting faster emergency transfusions and improved blood storage. doi.org/g92knc
Matthew Gibson
@labgibson.bsky.social
· Sep 4
Scientists develop groundbreaking ‘blood on demand’ technology to revolutionise emergency transfusions
Rapid washout: Cocktail-treated RBCs can be washed and prepared for transfusion in just 25 minutes – compared to over 75 minutes for glycerol.Higher recovery rates: The new method results in an averag...
www.manchester.ac.uk
and press release here.
www.manchester.ac.uk/about/news/s...
www.manchester.ac.uk/about/news/s...
Matthew Gibson
@labgibson.bsky.social
· Sep 4
Towards blood on demand: Rapid post-thaw isolation of red blood cells from multicomponent cryoprotectants
Severe blood loss due to trauma, anaemia, or chemotherapy necessitates immediate red blood cell (RBC) transfusions. The short shelf-life of RBCs at 4 …
www.sciencedirect.com
Our work showing how our macromolecular cryoprotectants unlock "blood on demand' is now published! @uommib.bsky.social From the freezer to fully washed in just 25 minutes, compared to 75 mins using glycerol. Partnership with Tom Whale, Fraser Macrae and more.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti....
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti....
Reposted by Matthew I. Gibson
University of Manchester and Bupa combine to affect change on environmental impact of healthcare sector
The University of Manchester and Bupa have announced an innovative new collaboration to develop new methods and strategies to drastically reduce the healthcare sector’s environmental impact upon our p...
www.manchester.ac.uk
ANNOUNCED: The University of Manchester and Bupa have launched an innovative new collaboration to drastically reduce the healthcare sector’s environmental impact on our planet 🌍
www.manchester.ac.uk/about/news/u...
www.manchester.ac.uk/about/news/u...
michael veale
@michae.lv
· Jul 22
Self-inflicted embarrassment for the University of Warwick — first it rebrands hyper-generically, then someone totally unhinged decides the *front page of the uni website* should say ‘Learn more about our Brand’.
Matthew Gibson
@labgibson.bsky.social
· Jul 10
Was a fun meeting and nice to catch up with so many colleagues and collaborators.
Matthew Gibson
@labgibson.bsky.social
· Jul 3
Label‐Free and Microplate‐Based Dissection of Glycan‐Virus Interactions Using Polymer‐Tethered Glyconanoparticles
This work demonstrates the use of polymer-tethered glycosylated gold nanoparticles for the label-free evaluation of influenza virus binding in a simple microplate. Sialylated linear and branched glyc...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Our latest work is out. Glyconanoparticles with complex branched glycans to interrogate influenza binding, with no labels in a microplate. Nice academic/industry collaboration @uommib.bsky.social with Iceni and AZ, and Rob Field. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Matthew Gibson
@labgibson.bsky.social
· May 28
Our team's dedicated microscopy platform for (live) cell imaging is set up @uommib.bsky.social : spinning disk confocal + high-content microscopes, + flow cytometer. This will accelerate our biomaterials discovery for cryo/glyco sciences. Credit to @akalabyabissoyi.bsky.social for hard work!
Matthew Gibson
@labgibson.bsky.social
· May 14
Today I’ll be visiting my Alma Mater, Durham Chemistry, as part of my Corday-Morgan lecture series. I’ll present our latest advances in (macro)molecules for cryobiology.
Matthew Gibson
@labgibson.bsky.social
· Apr 24
This will let us explore the benefits of PVAylation, which is not only ice-binding, water soluble, low toxicity, but is also degradable in the environment
Matthew Gibson
@labgibson.bsky.social
· Apr 24
This has been a challenge for us, due to lability of the RAFT end-group after deprotection giving us low conversion. Using a photo-reduction, we can cap the reactive end group and install bio-conjugation functionality at the other end.
Matthew Gibson
@labgibson.bsky.social
· Apr 24
PVAylation: precision end-functionalized poly(vinyl alcohol) for site-selective bioconjugation
The (bio)conjugation of polymers onto proteins enhances their pharmacokinetics and stability, most commonly using PEG (polyethylene glycol), but there is a need for alternatives. Poly(vinyl alcohol), ...
pubs.rsc.org
Our latest from Doug is out @chemicalscience.rsc.org @uommib.bsky.social . We introduce #PVAylation: site specific bioconjugation of PVA to proteins, bringing unique ice-binding capability as well as other benefits of polymer-conjugation. pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...