DNTOX, a bioanalytical company based in Germany, has won 31 EVOLVE manual pipettes, GRIPTIPS pipette tips and lab accessories from INTEGRA Biosciences as part of a start-up competition. The award will help the company to advance its research on chemical neurotoxicity and offer animal-free screening methods.
DNTOX: A Start-up with a Mission
DNTOX was founded in 2022 with the aim of assessing the potential of environmental, pharmaceutical and dietary compounds to disturb the developing or adult human brain. The company specializes in chemical neurotoxicity testing and uses proprietary in vitro methods that are faster, cheaper and more ethical than animal models.
The company’s flagship product is the Neurosphere Assay, which uses human neural stem cells to generate 3D brain-like structures called neurospheres. These neurospheres are exposed to different chemicals and analyzed for changes in size, shape and gene expression using artificial intelligence software. The Neurosphere Assay can detect subtle effects of chemicals on brain development and function within 5-6 weeks.
INTEGRA Supports Start-ups Competition
INTEGRA Biosciences is a leading provider of high-quality laboratory tools for liquid handling, media preparation, sterilization and cell cultivation. The company launched the ‘INTEGRA supports start-ups’ competition in 2023 to support young and innovative companies in the life sciences sector.
The competition invited start-ups to submit their business plans and explain how INTEGRA’s products would benefit their research. The winners were selected based on the originality, feasibility and impact of their projects. The winners received EVOLVE manual pipettes, GRIPTIPS pipette tips and lab accessories worth US $1000.
How INTEGRA’s Products Will Help DNTOX
DNTOX is one of the winners of the ‘INTEGRA supports start-ups’ competition and has received 31 single and multichannel EVOLVE manual pipettes, GRIPTIPS pipette tips and lab accessories from INTEGRA. The company will use these products to streamline its liquid handling workflows and increase its testing capacity.
The EVOLVE manual pipettes are designed to improve ergonomics, accuracy and productivity. They feature a unique volume adjustment system that allows users to set volumes up to 10 times faster than with traditional pipettes. The GRIPTIPS pipette tips are designed to fit perfectly onto the pipettes and prevent leakage, loosening or falling off. The lab accessories include a VIAFLO electronic pipette, a VOYAGER adjustable tip spacing pipette, an ASSIST PLUS pipetting robot, a VIAFILL reagent dispenser and a FIREBOY safety bunsen burner.
The DNTOX team will use the INTEGRA products for plating 2D and 3D cell models in 96 well plates and for performing immunocytochemical staining and washing protocols. The team will allocate different volumes and channels of pipettes to each liquid handling step and user, to avoid cross contamination and allow parallel work. This will help to speed up the neurotoxicity testing process and enhance the quality and reliability of the results.
A Win-Win Situation for Both Parties
The award from INTEGRA Biosciences is a huge encouragement for the DNTOX team, which is currently setting up its own independent laboratory space and planning to hire more employees in the near future. The INTEGRA products will help the company to achieve its goals of better protecting the human brain from neurotoxicological damage and eliminating the use of animals in neurotoxicity testing.
The award is also a great opportunity for INTEGRA Biosciences to showcase its products and support the growth of the life sciences sector. The company is proud to be part of DNTOX’s journey and hopes that its products will contribute to the advancement of neurotoxicity research.
