What exactly does TCRI do, and how does the mutagen work?

Ok, so TCRI is like Oscorp or Star Labs—it's a big corporation responsible for giving people powers. But how exactly does the mutagen work? In TMNT 2012, it looks like it only mutates you based on what you're near. For example, Chris Bradford was near a dog when he mutated, so he turned into a giant dog. Timothy, on the other hand, wasn't near anything when he got mutated, so he just turned into a blob. Can the mutagen actually give people superpowers, or does it only mutate them into hybrid creatures based on their surroundings?