PROMICON Asks, onCyt Answers - Team 'Learning from Nature - Enabling Technologies'

In the context of PROMICON's #PromiconAsksPromiconAnswers campaign, we come back to shine some more light on the work done by the "Learning from Nature - Enabling Technologies" team, this time around, giving the spotlight to the invaluable contributions of our project partners at onCyt. Their expertise contributes greatly to this team, where they're pioneering state-of-the-art technologies to empower the rest of the project's teams. onCyt's ambitious mission is to harness microbial communities to produce valuable products. Tackling the challenges of studying diverse microorganisms isolated from environmental samples, they focus on quantifying microbial members. Traditional methods often fall short in speed and predictability, and that's where onCyt steps in.

Microbiomes are intricate consortia of microorganisms, which is their focal point. These microbiomes perform tasks that single microorganisms cannot accomplish. Whether bioplastics or hydrogen production, microbiomes are indispensable for sustainability and waste reduction. onCyt's data collection efforts encompass identifying microorganisms present, quantifying group ratios, defining roles in production processes, assessing predictability, and exploring industrial-scale process control methods.

Their toolkit includes flow cytometry, a versatile optical method with a rich medical history. onCyt employs this technology and advanced techniques like online flow cytometry to enable continuous bioprocess data collection and automated analysis. This platform facilitates real-time monitoring and optimisation, ensuring efficient interventions when needed.

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