Is your research at risk? Best practice in maintenance, preservation and storage

Best practice in maintenance, preservation and storage should be a central part of any research project that involves the use of microbial cultures that would be difficult to replace, but this is not always the case.  Contamination of cultures and genetic drift can easily occur, especially when strains are being used for long-term programmes of work – it is all too easy to lose track of how many times your strain has been cultured since it was originally isolated. It’s not just contamination and strain drift that can cause issues …

Coronavirus Response Statement

By Carol Phillips, CEO Like everyone else, NCIMB has been closely monitoring the rapidly changing situation with regards to the Coronavirus pandemic and we have been adopting advice from the UK Government, the Scottish Government and the World Health Organisation as and when it has been released.  Protecting our staff, suppliers and stakeholders is our main priority while minimising disruption to essential products and services. We have increased measures at our site, including increased cleaning and limiting non-essential travel and visitors. We are now also working with a reduced staff …

NCIMB makes two new appointments to support continued growth

To support continued growth, Aberdeen-based microbiology, analytical services and biological material storage company NCIMB has appointed Dr Jude Huggan as Business Development Manager, and Dr Carol Devine to the post of Consultant Microbiologist. NCIMB’s microbial cultures and analytical services are used around the globe in research and innovation programmes, and for procedures such as quality control, intellectual property protection, microbial identification, corrosion risk-assessment and environmental monitoring.  Customers include companies in the pharmaceutical, food & drink, oil & gas, agriculture and environmental sectors, as well as academia. Jude, who holds a …

NCIMB launches probiotics and microbial additive testing service

NCIMB has launched a new package of services to support manufacturers of probiotic products and feed additives in assessing the suitability of candidate strains and complying with European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) FEEDAP guidelines. FEEDAP is the Panel on Additives and Products or Substances used in Animal Feed. Our package includes a range of tests and analyses that provide valuable information about the functional characteristics of strains. Individual packages can be tailored to specific requirements. For example, strains used in probiotic products must survive the acidic gastric environment if they …

Strain with plant-pathogen control potential now available from NCIMB

Recent additions to the National Collection of Industrial, Food and Marine Bacteria include a strain with potential as a biocontrol agent. NCIMB 15235 Serratia inhibens was isolated from a potato rhizosphere and deposited in the NCIMB collection by scientists from the University of Copenhagen.  A draft genome sequence has been published in Microbiology Resource Announcements. The authors state that the application of rhizosphere biocontrol bacteria to control plant-pathogenic fungi is an alternative approach to the use of chemical agents, and that the genomic data provide insight into the genetics underpinning …

Planning for Business Growth?

By Dr Carol Phillips IBioIC is a valuable support network for industrial biotechnology and I am looking forward to chairing the session on planning for business growth at this week’s annual conference. Biotech companies often start small and grow quickly. But the growth that investors are looking for, and that CEOs and their teams are working so hard to achieve, can present many challenges. How do you market your products in the right way to the right people? How do you scale up your processes and ensure that your workforce has …