Amazing biocalorimetry
Biocalorimetry is amazing. It’s versatile. Groundbreakingly fast, and extremely sensitive. Quite simply, it’s a tool that is ‘disrupting’ and breaking ground in various industries.
All living organisms are metabolically active and metabolic processes produce heat. Biocalorimetry measures heat. Biocalorimetry is isothermal microcalorimetry (IMC) adapted for biological system.
Simple, yet information-rich
In real-time, biocalorimetry allows scientists to monitor the heat generated by living organisms, providing insights into biological systems that would otherwise remain hidden. Its ability to detect unknown phenomena and capture unnoticed events makes it an ideal analytical and/or monitoring tool.
What is more, biocalorimetry is label-free, requiring no special sample preparation and is independent of the media. If a sample can fit into the calorimeter vial, it can be measured. The technique is applicable to all kinds of living systems, from microorganisms and cells to tissues, and can generate both qualitative and quantitative data depending on your research goal.
We’re excited
We’re excited. You will be too. Below, you get a rough idea of how our science works. In the other sections, you can see how we are changing the game in numerous industries.
We look forward to working together.
Established yet new
Calorimetry is not a new technique; in fact the very first calorimetric experiment was biocalorimetric and was conducted more than 200 years ago in the winter 1782/83 by Lavoiser and LaPlace. It was not microcalorimetry at the time, but the series of experiments could conclude that respiration is a slow combustion process.
Today there is an ever-increasing interest in biocalorimetry for various applications and the potential of the technique is increasing the more we learn how to interpret the data.
Measuring real-time metabolic activity
All living organisms are metabolically active. Metabolic processes in a biological sample produce heat. Microbes, especially in the exponential growth phase, generate a significant amount of heat compared to, for example, a cell background. In this growth promotion assay, we continuously monitor the heat produced with extreme sensitivity, enabling us to rapidly detect contamination by a single microorganism.
Exceptional sensitivity
Isothermal microcalorimetry, the foundation of biocalorimetry, is exceptionally sensitive. It can measure heat production rates or heat flow down to sub-microwatt (µW) level. This makes biocalorimetry ideal for detecting the smallest populations of living organisms. Even when only a few microorganisms are present initially, biocalorimetry can rapidly detect the presence by their heat production as they multiply.
The thermogram
Simultaneous detection and identification
Real time data is continuously collected as heat flow which is the measured heat production. The heat flow data in µW is a rate (µJ/s) and is plotted versus time. By integrating the data over time the total metabolic heat is achieved.
Different microorganisms have different metabolic profiles, enabling both detection and identification.
- High Sensitivity
Rapid results with LOD 1 - Unique Fingerprint
Identification based on thermogram signature - Matrix independent
Inoculate directly from complex sample
