Testimonials

“Bacteria growing in the biofilm state represent a challenging burden for the health system and by exploring the nature and antibiotic response of bacteria in this state we can increase the understanding and treatment of infections caused by bacteria in biofilm.

Our recent research show that the metabolism of bacteria determines their antibiotic tolerance. So far, the distinguishing between planktonic single bacteria and biofilms has only been possible by microscopy. We would very much like more quantitative data on the different bacterial populations.

This we hope to accomplish by using the calScreener™ to study the metabolism of planktonic bacteria and bacteria in in vitro and ex vivo biofilm, to investigate the optimal treatment of in vitro and in vivo bacterial biofilm. The calScreener™ will be used to investigate how the metabolic activity levels of bacteria in biofilms are correlated with efficiency of antibiotic treatment.

Our initial results are very promising, and I foresee the calScreener™ to be an extremely important tool, for elucidating how to treat and prevent chronic infections in the future.”

Professor Thomas Bjarnsholt

“The Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Microbiology at Ghent University focuses on understanding the mechanisms behind the reduced susceptibility of bacterial biofilms to antibiotics, particularly in respiratory tract infections. Our research has highlighted the significance of metabolic changes in biofilms, but until now, the tools to study these metabolic processes were insufficient.

The introduction of the calScreener™ has allowed us to observe significant metabolic changes in biofilms under simulated infection conditions, revealing that resistance mutations also impact bacterial metabolism.

These findings could lead to new strategies to enhance antibiotic effectiveness by altering biofilm metabolism, making the calScreener™ a crucial tool in our ongoing research.”

Tom Coenye

“The calScreener™ is an instrument combining high sensitivity and high throughput. This instrument is ideal for most biotechnology purposes involving organisms from bacteria to small nematodes. As a consequence, a few thousand cells are already sufficient to have a clear thermal response. It is particularly well suited for drug susceptibility assays and metabolic studies.

The calScreener™ perfectly complements other thermal analysis tools such as DSC or ITC in biotech environment and drug discovery. It is also a valuable alternative to other time consuming techniques and assays.”

“Antimicrobial resistance is increasing rapidly and can cause infections that are extremely difficult to treat. Sometimes not even a single antimicrobial has remaining activity against these pathogens. The only possible management is customized solutions with rapid and accurate quantitative measurements. Moreover, there is a great need for testing several antimicrobials simultaneously, to predict the effects of combination therapy. Thus far there is no existing commercial solution for this problem which could be feasible to use in clinical laboratories.

The calScreener™ is uniquely positioned to potentially solve these problems and this is what enthused us to start testing Symcel’s technology in our research lab.”

“Isothermal microcalorimetry allows us to observe in real-time the metabolic status of biofilm associated bacteria and therefore to select the antibiotics that are active against them.”

“The Symcel calScreener™ has changed how we develop new products by providing an incredibly cost-efficient way of evaluating media compositions, strain viability and performance. Its sensitivity and real-time monitoring capabilities have allowed us to gain deeper insights into the metabolic profiles of various probiotic strains, leading to more accurate assessments of their efficacy and viability, hence the calScreener™ has been an incredibly valuable tool in our recent product development projects.”

Dr. Marco Pane

Chief Scientific Officer, Probioticals

As a company dedicated to developing game changing antimicrobial coating formulations to prevent biofilm formation on insertable and implantable medical devices, the Symcel microcalorimeter has been an invaluable asset to our work.

Its precision and sensitivity have enabled us to measure metabolic activity and detect microbial growth in real-time, in biologically relevant media, even at very low levels, allowing us to quickly assess the efficacy of our coatings. The Symcel microcalorimeter’s ability to provide continuous, non-destructive monitoring of biofilm activity has significantly accelerated our research process.

Symcel’s calScreener™ has truly revolutionized our approach to combating biofilm-related infections, making it an indispensable tool to CMD-Coat.

Dr. Cecile Oury

“Our recent acquisition of the Symcel calScreener™ has given us new possibilities to study the interplay between microbes, advanced materials and surface treatments. Unlike traditional methods, the calScreener™ has provided us with morphology independent, real-time, quantitative data on bacterial activity, enabling us to analyze samples in a completely new way.”

Professor Rasmita Raval