Qkine

Name: Qkine
Address: 1 Murdoch House, Cambridge, CB58HW, GB
Telephone: +441223491486

Qkine manufactures high-purity, animal-free growth factors, cytokines and other complex proteins.

23/06/2026

We are proud to exhibit at the ISSCR 2026 Annual Meeting, taking place in Montréal, Canada on 8-11 July 2026.

Register to join us there! https://zurl.co/3v5Xe

22/06/2026

Qkine now do cell culture media supplements! 🧪

We are so excited to announce our first ever distribution partner products available now on the Qkine website https://zurl.co/dfWRZ

Qkine believes in high quality, animal-free, fully traceable and transparent reagents and Defined Bioscience cell culture media supplements are the perfect fit.

NOW AVAILABLE

🧪HiDef® B8 stem cell growth medium
A complete, serum-free, defined formulation designed for the feeder-free maintenance and expansion of human pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) in an undifferentiated state > https://zurl.co/6cxj6

🧪Ready-CEPT® cell viability supplement
A defined formulation designed for improved stem cell survival and growth during routine passaging, cryopreservation, and freeze-thaw recovery > https://zurl.co/9Qcvk

🧪 HiDef® N-2 neural medium supplement
A defined formulation designed for the culture and growth of neuronal cells > https://zurl.co/AHwWB

🧪HiDef® ITS cell culture supplement
A defined formulation designed for the routine maintenance and low-density attachment of adherent cells under reduced serum conditions > https://zurl.co/sG2P2

View and buy online > https://zurl.co/dfWRZ

18/06/2026

🌟Application note! Differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) into microglia using new Qkine IL-34 PLUS™ .

Microglia, which originate from mesodermal and mesenchymal lineage, serve as the primary innate immune cells of the central nervous system (CNS) where they play crucial roles in synaptic plasticity, neurogenesis, maintaining homeostasis, and immune defense.

Microglia have also been increasingly recognized for their involvement in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD).

Studying human microglia has historically been challenging due to the difficulty of obtaining primary cells from human donors. To overcome this limitation, deriving microglia from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) has emerged as a promising solution.

In this application note we describe the method for the differentiation of iPSC to microglia using Qkine animal origin-free high purity growth factors.

View application note > https://zurl.co/4wWW5

This protocol uses a range of growth factors and cytokines;

BMP-4 > https://zurl.co/MdyeT
SCF > https://zurl.co/wulqP
VEGF 165 > https://zurl.co/ngz1h
IL-3 > https://zurl.co/HTqpQ
M-CSF > https://zurl.co/DiNhC
GM-CSF > https://zurl.co/AzkKd
Flt3L > https://zurl.co/9G6qg
Thermostable FGF-2 (FGF2-G3) > https://zurl.co/fvTmJ
and our new, patented, high bioactivity protein IL-34 PLUS > https://zurl.co/eCZsz

Also available as a kit saving >30% on individual proteins > https://zurl.co/KrzHT

17/06/2026

Qkine recombinant human PDGF-BB is a highly pure disulfide–linked bioactive homodimer of PDGF-B peptide chains.

PDGF-BB increases stem cell proliferation and marker expression and can be used in osteogenic and neural stem cell differentiation.

Qkine growth factors are all optimized for bioactivity, animal -origin free, carrier free and tag-free.

See more on our animal origin-free PDGF-BB and buy online > https://zurl.co/5g34x

View the PDGF-BB technote > https://zurl.co/s6zCI

15/06/2026

🧩New product! Uniquely animal origin-free activin AB heterodimer!

Activins are members of the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) superfamily, a group of proteins that play key roles in regulating cell growth, survival and differentiation. In vivo activins exist as homodimers or heterodimers, the activin heterodimer AB is widely expressed and biologically active with similar functions to the activin AA homodimer.

Qkine recombinant activin AB is a bioactive 25.7 kDa heterodimer, animal origin-free, tag free and carrier free for improved reproducibility.

View and buy online > https://zurl.co/IUjID

We compare all our uniquely animal origin-free proteins against mammalian alternatives, view our activin AB bioactivity technote > https://zurl.co/qz3QR

11/06/2026

🌟Application note! Differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) into astrocytes

Astrocytes are the most abundant glial cells in the human central nervous system and are essential for maintaining healthy brain function. They regulate neurotransmitter uptake, ion and metabolic homeostasis, synaptic activity, and blood–brain barrier integrity, while also contributing to neuroimmune signaling, inflammation, injury response, and neuronal survival.

Increasing evidence links astrocytic dysfunction to the pathogenesis of numerous neurological and neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson’s disease, and epilepsy.
Consequently, physiologically relevant human astrocyte models are essential for advancing our understanding of CNS biology, disease mechanisms, and for drug discovery and neurotoxicity testing.

Read our application note using Qkine growth factors to differentiate iPSC into astrocytes > https://zurl.co/Zw4KZ

We have grouped the growth factors needed for astrocyte differentiation into a differentiation kit, saving over 30% on buying them individually > https://zurl.co/F8tcK

Astrocyte differentiation uses
Thermostable FGF-2 (FGF2-G3, Qk052) > https://zurl.co/n0evB
Noggin (Qk034) > https://zurl.co/pyPkP
EGF (Qk011) > https://zurl.co/vLUUd
CNTF (Qk063) > https://zurl.co/7yj4K

All Qkine growth factors are animal origin-free, highly bioactive and guaranteed to be reproducible lot-to-lot.

10/06/2026

GDNF plays a crucial role in the development, growth, and survival of neurons in particular midbrain dopaminergic neurons. GNDF is used to maintain neurons and cortical organoids and to differentiate dopaminergic neurons from human pluripotent stem cell-derived neural progenitors.

Qkine test every lot of their growth factors to ensure consistent bioactivity and high purity. Qkine GDNF is animal origin-free, tag-free and carrier-free to ensure the best results from your neural stem cell cultures.

See more on GDNF and buy online > https://zurl.co/noFrt

Read our GDNF bioactivity technote > https://zurl.co/OCtUX

Read our application note on iPSC neuronal cultures > https://zurl.co/GPA7h

Read our application note on maintenance of iNeurons > https://zurl.co/g4Iq9

09/06/2026

We excited to be exhibiting at the first‑edition of 'Complex Organoid Systems with Multifaceted InteraCtions Symposium'

Organized by the PTL COSMIC of the University of Montpellier this event will be a unique opportunity to foster scientific exchanges between academic researchers and industry partners, highlight cutting‑edge scientific, methodological, and technological advances, and strengthen the PTL COSMIC community.

More details about the event > https://zurl.co/Rr2BG

More information about how Qkine growth factors and cytokines can support your organoid research > https://zurl.co/0JeUm

08/06/2026

🧩New product!

Growth differentiation factor -11 (GDF-11) also known as bone morphogenetic protein 11 (BMP-11) is a member of the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) superfamily, a group of proteins that play key roles in regulating cell growth, survival and differentiation. GDF-11 plays a key role in cardiac and neuronal development.

Qkine recombinant GDF-11 (BMP-11) is provided as a pure 25 kDa dimer with high and consistent bioactivity lot-to-lot.

View and buy online > https://zurl.co/JO9zj

We compare all our proteins against alternatives, view our GDF-11 bioactivity technote > https://zurl.co/pqfM7

04/06/2026

Exciting new data to go with our new products with our partners StemCultures

StemCultures patented microencapsulation technology StemBeads are now available as DISC devices with Qkine growth factors. StemBeads provide a steady release of BDNF and GDNF into cell culture media for more stable and reproducible neural stem cell cultures.

Read the full application note > https://zurl.co/TM8cS

Qkine BDNF and GNDF are now available as StemBeads or DISC devices > https://zurl.co/QfpuC

Address

1 Murdoch House
Cambridge
CB58HW

Telephone

+441223491486

Website

http://www.qkine.com/

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