Verenium’s approach for discovering novel enzymes generates huge collections of microbial genes, called gene libraries. Likewise, Verenium's laboratory evolution technology, used for the optimization of enzymes and other proteins, also generates large and potentially valuable gene libraries. Verenium has developed an array of automated, ultra high-throughput screening technologies to mine these large libraries for novel biomolecules. These systems are designed to screen for biological activity, known as expression-based screening, and for targeted DNA sequences of interest, known as sequence-based screening. Verenium's key technologies include the SingleCell(SM) screening methodology, the GigaMatrix® ultra high-throughput screening platform, and the SciLect(SM) data management system.
Verenium's SingleCell(SM) screening system uses Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting, or FACS, a technology that enables the identification of biological activity within a single cell. This system incorporates a laser with multiple wavelength capabilities and the ability to screen up to 50,000 clones per second, or over 1 billion clones per day.
Verenium proprietary GigaMatrix® ultra high-throughput screening platform is capable of screening one billion clones per day through the use of state-of-the-art robotics and high density sample plates. Typical screening systems utilize disposable 96-, 384-, or 1536-well plates with a standard 3.3” x 5” footprint. GigaMatrix® plates, with the same footprint, contain up to a million wells per plate, each about the diameter of a human hair, which greatly enhances Verenium’s ability to identify novel enzymes and proteins from large and complex gene libraries. In addition, the GigaMatrix® plates are reusable and require only miniscule volumes of reagents, making them highly cost-effective.
In order to manage the vast amounts of information generated from screening billions of genes, Verenium has developed the SciLect(SM) data management system. This system allows Verenium to store, analyze and manage mission-critical biological data.
