Evonetix installs first DNA synthesis development platform at ICL

It will be the company’s first platform to be installed in an external scientific setting

Evonetix has announced its first placement of a DNA synthesis development platform for evaluation at Imperial College London (ICL) to conduct research for human disease and infection.

This is the first time Evonetix has installed the platform in an external scientific setting for customer use and commercialisation.

The installation follows the successful delivery and testing of Evonetix’s chip-synthesised DNA for evaluation at the University of Cambridge, which further proved its efficiency and supported the development of the company.

The DNA synthesis platform comprises patented semiconductor chip designs and proprietary, thermally controlled synthesis chemistry, to bring novel approaches to chemistry, as well as process control to enable DNA synthesis in any lab.

Dr Matthew Hayes, chief technology officer at Evonetix, commented on the platform in an interview. He said: “By integrating these elements, we’re able to combine overlapping single-stranded DNA into double-stranded sequences in a way that removes synthesis errors,” as well as “miniaturising the process and achieving highly parallel synthesis within a machine small enough to sit on a laboratory bench top”.

The ultimate goal of Evonetix’s platform is to provide a desktop synthesiser to all labs for researchers to utilise, with the installation at ICL representing a “significant step forward in delivering on [this] vision,” said Colin McCracken, chief executive officer at Evonetix.

Dr Paul Freemont, head of structural and synthetic biology, department of infectious diseases at ICL, said: “The limitations of the current service model for accessing long synthetic DNA, including turnaround time and costs, create barriers in our synthetic biology research.”

By providing better access to gene-length DNA, engineering biology research can be transformed across the healthcare, biotech, agriculture and food industries, allowing researchers to experiment and accelerate results.

Freemont added: “Evonetix’s technology has the potential to completely change the way we produce and use DNA, enabling flexibility and speed that will have a significant impact on the way we conduct our research into human disease and infection.”