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Products and services
Supporting the development of products for aquaculture
Our state-of-the-art in vitro salmon gut simulation machine allows us to provide a range of experiments on the salmon gastro-intestinal system.
Our experiments reduce the cost of feed and pharmaceuticals development by reducing the need for in vivo testing.
Digestibility
Analyse the enzymatic hydrolysis of aquafeed substrates to measure bioaccessibility and the bioavailability of nutrients. We analyse the absorption of amino acids, volatile fatty acids, lipids and sugars during the digestion/fermentation process using our state-of-the-art nutrient dialyser.
Vetinary
pharmaceuticals
Assess the activation and bioavailability of orally administered medicines and characterise the influence of drugs upon pathogenic and commensal microbial species.
Pro-pre-syn biotics
Characterise the impact of prebiotic ingredients upon the diversity and activity of the bacteria community within the gastro-intestinal system with comprehensive focus on species known to have beneficial influence on fish GI health.
Commensal bacteria and antibiotics
Our technology can simulate the spread of antibiotic resistance genes in the salmon GI tract.
We compile a comprehensive database of commensal microbial species to characterise communities of gastro-intestinal microbes that promote favoural properties in farmed salmon provide a pathway to greater sustainability and yield.
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Data analysis
SalmoSim in-vitro digestibility values are compared with in-vivo feeding trial data to predict the digestibility of novel aquafeed diets via regression analysis. We also provide actionable information to rank ingredients regarding the solubilisation and breakdown of macronutrients and the bioavailability of micronutrients
Data interpretation
Microbial focus
Molecular analysis
While the system is running we use state of the art microbiological techniques, quantitative PCR and next generation technologies to target specific microbes of interest to characterise prevalence within the our simulated gut environment. Additionally we assess the overall bacterial density.
We use molecular assays and chemical techniques to elucidate the processes of meal digestion and nutrient absorption.
We track the levels of dissolved proteins using Bicinchoninic Acid assays and we use phthalaldehyde assays and UPLC-MS/MS to analyse free amino acids. We perform volatile free fatty acids analysis with GC-MS. We analyse the levels of dietary nitrogen within insoluble waste using the Kjeldahl method (an official method of AOAC, USEPA, ISO, Pharmacopeias and European Directives)