Start-up GaiaIsotopic: EXIST funding for photonic analysis of metabolic processes in cells
© Silke Beaucamp
The deep tech start-up GaiaIsotopic, which emerged from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology at TU Dortmund, is receiving funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE).
With about 800,000€ from the EXIST Research Transfer program, the team led by Natalie Schütz, Moritz Zimmer, and Dr.-Ing. Alvaro Ortiz Pérez is receiving 18 months of support to convert its results on photonic microsensor technology into a commercially viable product. The goal is to develop a new method for real-time analysis of metabolic processes in cells, which will also be used in cancer research in the future.
“For us, the EXIST funding is a huge milestone: it gives us the opportunity to further develop our technology into a competitive product and research tool that will offer previously unimagined possibilities for biochemical research,” says Natalie Schütz, founding member of GaiaIsotopic. Along with Moritz Zimmer and Dr.-Ing. Alvaro Ortiz Pérez, she is conducting research at Prof. Stefan Palzer’s Professorship for Sensors on an analytical solution that will provide new insights into cell metabolism. The so-called “Iso-Flux” technology is built around a micro-integrated photonic sensor approach that, for the first time, allows for cell behaviour to be dynamically tracked and analysed in real time. The GaiaIsotopic team is striving for a paradigm shift: its innovative approach is intended to replace invasive methods and time-delayed measurements.
The new method is particularly promising for investigating how cancer cells function. Only when researchers understand how exactly tumor cells process nutrients are they able to develop new therapies based on this knowledge. “Our method allows us to obtain direct data on the metabolism of nutrients in tumor cells for the first time – this has enormous potential for basic research, but also for the development of new therapeutic options,” explains Moritz Zimmer. Thanks to the EXIST funding, the team can develop a Proof of Concept, i.e. that is to demonstrate that the idea works. Afterwards a market-ready product will be developed. In a first step, automated test series will be performed on cell cultures, and the results will be processed into usable data. An initial version of the process is expected to be completed in early 2026, which can then be tested, evaluated, and further developed.
The GaiaIsotopic team is complemented by Dr. Andrea Cantone, an expert in the commercialization of intellectual property. The start-up is supported by Dr. Peter Kreuzaler, a renowned cancer researcher at the Cluster of Excellence Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-associated Diseases (CECAD) at the University of Cologne, who is accompanying the development from the user’s perspective. In addition, GaiaIsotopic has close ties to the Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology at TU Dortmund thus building on a leading hub for microsystems technology. The team benefits both from the technology know-how and experience of Prof. Stefan Palzer as well as from his professorship’s clean room infrastructure. In addition, the team uses the services of the Center for Entrepreneurship & Transfer (CET) at TU Dortmund and works together with the CET team.