The functional screens executed at MicroLife Solutions can be easily coupled to the high throughput level libraries (such as those generated in the MetaScreen method). They are meant to select the clones or microorganisms with the desired bioactive compounds to get mechanistic insights and to filter out compounds which are too toxic for intended applications.
Microbial isolates and many kinds of extracts can be purified by our chromatographic infrastructure and analyzed on various biological activities. These include the inhibition of selected pathogen strains (by means of agar diffusion and MIC assays), the detection of target enzymatic activities and the use of bacterial luciferase reporter assays. The latter give an indication on the mode of action exerted by the compound, extract or the products which is formed during enzymatic conversions.
The labs of MicroLife Solutions are embedded within the BioDetection Systems infrastructure. This allows instant access to the use of the human cell line-based CALUX® reporter assays. Those are a panel of eukaryotic luciferase reporter cell lines that are indicative for the most important toxicological endpoints and also for some beneficial activities for health. This is essential for risk assessment in the initial phases of valorization.