CARBON GOLD LTD

CryoLogyx Ltd

University of Warwick spin-out, CryoLogyx, is developing cell models frozen in-plate and ready to use directly from the freezer.

Its proprietary technology can provide the best of both worldsfrozen cells that are bankable and easy to store, in the end-use format needed for scientific research.

In May last year, the company was awarded £300,000 from Innovate UK to develop cryopreservation agents with applications in the diagnostic, medicines discovery and cell-based therapy markets.

In order to store and transport cells for research, or as advanced medicines, it is essential to freeze them as they are not stable at room temperature for long periods.

Carbon Gold was established by Green & Black’s Chocolate founder Craig Sams in 2007 as an organic, peatfree planting aid.

Together with co-founder Dan Morrell, who established the Carbon Neutral Company, they developed a natural range of organic biochar, a bi-product of burning biomass to produce a charcoallike substance which traps carbon while adding nutrients to the soil.

Carbon Gold’s biochar products are free from peat and synthetic chemicals and are Soil Association approved for organic growing.

Carbon Gold, which is based in Bristol, works with Premier League football clubs, major race and golf courses, royal parks and gardens to improve the condition of their grounds, but the product is also available to amateur gardeners.

Executive chairman Craig Sams said:

“Carbon Gold has always been about making a difference. Whether that’s helping trees flourish in the face of pests and diseases, boosting commercial growers’ yields to help them meet growing demand and stay profitable, or sequestering carbon permanently in soil to combat climate change.”

The traditional solution to this was to add organic solvent “antifreezes”, similar to those used in a car. Professor Matthew Gibson’s lab at the University of Warwick has learned from how organisms survive in the coldest environments on earth to develop new macromolecular cryoprotectants which allow more cells to survive the freezing process and to replace the organic solvents.

The polymer cryoprotectants are easy to use, can give up to four times the number of recovered cells, and have been shown to work in a range of cell types.

CryoLogyx is aiming to use this platform technology to accelerate fundamental life science research, simplify the development process and aid supply chains.