A new biotech-based company in town has established an innovative, efficient way to store and mobilize biological samples.
Biomatrica, 5627 Oberlin Drive, stresses that the new method outdistances previous methods that required scientists to put the samples in cold storage.
“One of the best things about the three products is that Biomatrica’s technology can be used in such widespread applications in the biomedical industry,” said Judy Muller-Cohn, Ph.D., CEO and co-founder of Biomatrica.
As a result of this technology, Biomatrica has a new product offering.
It is a trademarked trio of products based around SampleMatrix, a dry storage medium allowing sample biological storage, as well as transportation devices for biological specimens through SampleGard and tracking by SampleWare.
Together these products allow biological samples to be easily, stored, moved and recovered at the lab bench with no need for freezers or dry ice.
The three products in tandem have been nominated for a UCSD Connect Most Innovative New Product (MIP) Award in the “Life Sciences ” Diagnostics & Research Tools” category. Connect, the nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering technology and life science business in San Diego, will hold its 19th annual MIP Awards luncheon on Friday, Dec. 15 at the Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines, 10950 N. Torrey Pines Road.
The biological samples market typically includes biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, research and academic institutes and criminal forensics labs ¬ all of which are plentiful in San Diego and around the world.
Biomatrica was formed in 2004 when two scientists needed their own solution to the large quantity of samples and data that resulted from the genomics age and high throughput laboratory discovery. One of them was Muller-Cohn.
“We are the founders. We’re a husband and wife team [along with my husband Rolf Muller] that has worked in the lab to discover novel chemistry to store samples and proceeded to patent the innovations and make commercial products to sell to the scientific community,” Muller-Cohn said.
The duo thinks that Biomatrica has the potential to create great influence in the life sciences industry.
Less time, less energy and greater sample recovery are the key benefits to the industry as companies make the transition from cold storage to room temperature sample storage and transport.
SampleMatrix dry storage medium is a dissolvable compound that stabilizes biological samples at room temperature. SampleMatrix dissolves within minutes during sample hydration and allows total recovery without degradation or loss of activity. It is a synthetic polymer based on the natural principles of anyhydrobiosis and advanced polymer chemistry, or “life without water.”
The system will basically allow organisms to survive in a dry state for periods as long as 120 years. During these extended periods, their DNA, proteins, membranes and cellular systems are protected and can be revived by simple re-hydration. “Just add water” and life is restored.
“SampleMatrix, our core technology, is a dissolvable compound that stabilizes DNA at room temperature,” Muller-Cohn said. “SampleMatrix forms a protective shield around the sample, essentially shrink-wrapping the DNA. These products benefit scientific researchers, forensic scientists and clinicians.”
DNA that is stored in SampleMatrix does not need to be purified, which also saves researchers time. They can recover their samples in a fraction of the time it takes with other storage methods.
This recovered DNA can be used in many research applications, including transformations, sequencing, transfections, and whole genome amplification. These applications are common in biological and pharmaceutical research and in forensics labs.
“I have been very happy with how Biomatrica’s products have helped us organize DNA samples in our lab,” Stefan Wieland, Ph.D., a senior staff scientist in the Department of Molecular & Experimental Medicine at The Scripps Research Institute, said in a Biomatrica press release. “This especially applies to archiving DNA samples from post-docs and other lab members who leave the lab and whose samples were previously stored in various boxes in different freezers.”
All in all, the system allows biological analysis to be more sophisticated, yet simpler to analyze and manage.
One of the best things about the three products is that Biomatrica’s technology can be used in such widespread applications in the biomedical industry.
Until now, the management of such cold material has been associated with increased cost and difficulty in storage and use. Muller-Cohn said Biomatrica’s products address these problems and have the potential to transform the way biological samples are stored and transported worldwide.
“First and foremost, Biomatrica will be an employer in the region. We are a new, rapidly growing company,” Muller-Cohn said. “We intend to become a very big player in the biotechnology arena, both locally, in the San Diego region and on the national and international levels.”
In addition, Biomatrica is a member of UCSD Connect and it is currently exploring partnerships with other local biotech companies.
“The La Jolla/Sorrento Valley area is the hub of the biotech industry in San Diego,” Muller-Cohn said. “And, of course, we wanted to be a part of it.
“I founded the company along with Rolf. We both have extensive research backgrounds, and over the years, we have dealt firsthand with the challenges of sample storage. Together, we formed the company to address a huge need in the research arena.”
UPDATE: Biomatrica did win the UCSD Connect Most Innovative New Product (MIP) Award in the “Life Sciences ” Diagnostics & Research Tools” category on Dec. 15.