SLAS selects 12 most innovative automation start-ups

“The applications have been reviewed and we are pleased to announce the 12 start-ups and emerging technology companies that have been selected for SLAS Europe 2025 Innovation AveNEW in Hamburg,” Jill Hronek, SLAS Director of Marketing and Communications, told European Biotechnology Magazine.  SLAS will select up to ten finalists from the companies for the €5,000 SLAS Ignite Award, which recognises the most innovative start-up in the field of laboratory automation and drug screening. Start-ups with a product that has been on the market for less than six months also have the opportunity to patiipate in  the SLAS New Product Award. The award recognises innovations that promise to revolutionise drug screening.

The following companies have qualified for funding through the Innovation AveNew programme: Acoustofab Ltd (London, UK), Instromeda Ltd, LifeTaq, Minos Biosciences, MyxoTech, Nanovery Ltd, Nanoworx, NestEgg Labs B.V., ORYL Photonics, Phabioc, Third Law Molecular and Unicorn Biotechnologies.

European Biotechnology Magazine is running a series of profiles of innovative companies in the run-up to SLAS Europe, starting with Acoustofab Ltd.

Robotic systems in laboratory environments are often designed for specific purposes and therefore require specific hardware configurations, making them expensive and inflexible. But what if the manipulation of liquids, cells and small solids could be done completely contact-free? This is exactly what nanoengineers and computer scientists have made possible in a system without pipetting arms or similar mechanical devices, which uses acoustic levitation to levitate the components to be pipetted, sorted, mixed or printed. ““When you see acoustic levitation for the first time, it feels like pure magic,” says Shubhi Bansal, who co-founded Acoustofab Ltd. with Prof. Dr. Sriram Subramanian, Ryuji Hirayama, and Diego M. Plasenciaa.

Acoustic levitation technology from AcoustoFab uses a custom-built array of ultrasonic transducers that are precisely controlled to create so-called acoustic holograms. “By algorithmically adjusting the timing of each transducer, we create patterns that enable the non-contact manipulation of small solids and liquids with precision and speed, revolutionising sorting, handling and processing in all industries,” says Subramanian, the inventor of the technology.

The principle of acoustostophoretic non-contact multi-material manufacturing (AMCM) realised by Acoustofab was developed to solve various problems encountered in many current manufacturing technologies, such as contamination and unsafe handling of reagents, chemicals, biomaterials, food and drugs. The technology is used in non-contact assembly, cleaning and 3D printing. It enables precise, contactless control over the mobility and speed of objects in 3D space. As one example, in collaboration with Diamond Light Source, the team at Acoustofab is exploring room-temperature protein crystallography using a phased array device that generates programmable acoustic fields in three dimensions.

Acoustofab is one of the companies that may have applied to take part in the SLAS Ignite Award at SLAS Europe 2025 in Hamburg.

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