Team:Lambert GA/Entrepreneurship

VALUE PROPOSITION

There is a deficiency in affordable and effective laboratory equipment for scientific research communities in third-world countries. While local governments, aid organizations, and donors have attempted to instill research infrastructures, few provide sufficient instrument servicing and equipment maintenance. In the past, there have been donations, but efforts have yielded unpromising results. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), estimates show that despite the 80% medical equipment donation to the developing world, at any given time, 40-70% of equipment does not function.

Lambert iGEM focuses on creating a bead homogenizer to resolve an aspect of this accessibility problem. By providing cost-effective and working laboratory equipment to aid in diagnosis, disease-specific drug treatments can be thereby applied and address the needs of the underfunded communities.

The OpenCell (Bead Homogenizer) has been modeled and rendered in 3-D software.

MARKET ANALYSIS

We first accessed our market. We took a zoom-in approach, starting from our largest overarching market to our specific bead homogenizer market.

The market segmentation of the homogenizer market is inside the laboratory equipment market.

Market Segmentation Part 1: Laboratory Equipment Market Analysis

According to Zion Market Research, “Global laboratory equipment services market was valued at approximately USD 7.3 billion in 2017 and is expected to generate revenue of around USD 14.7 billion by the end of 2024.” With revenue projected to double in the next ~8 years and potential for growth heightened, the market presents an opportunity. The steep growth shown in the market permits fluid and feasible integration of our hardware.

Market Segmentation Part 2: Homogenizer Market Analysis

Homogenizers are used to breakdown particles into micron sizes for dispersion, extraction, and/or processing. Current laboratory homogenizers can be grouped into the following categories:

    Pressure

  • High: Focus is on high pressure and extreme acceleration for liquids.

    • Mechanical

  • High Shear: Focus is on producing the finest particle size in the market.
  • Bead Mill: Use beads to break and disrupt tissues and cells through grinding and lysing of biological samples.

    • Ultrasonic

  • Focus is on high shear and intense stress to liquids, powder/liquid mixtures.

These state-of-the-art laboratory homogenizers range in size from handheld to industrial-size. Furthermore, the quality of laboratory homogenizers can be evaluated by capacity, speed (RPM) range, sample type, and recommended applications. Bead size, shape, and density should be adjusted depending on the sample type. The most popular homogenizer on the market is the ultrasonic, which is the most expensive and effective for mass lysing in traditional laboratory settings. However, Lambert iGEM focused on the bead homogenizer instead, which is portable and suitable for smaller labs.

Customers

Our customers are grouped by the following features:

(Campbell, Nerry, McCarthy) National Percentage Prevalence of Soil-Transmitted Helminth Infections Worldwide.

  1. Geographical Information

    Lambert iGEM’s project, LABYRINTH, specifically deals with parasitic helminths, or parasitic worms such as Trichuris trichiura, Ascaris lumbricoides, Strongyloides stercoralis, and so forth. The map above, in alignment with our main project, shows global helminth infection spread. The people living in these communities require diagnostics and accompanying lab equipment and are more likely to invest in affordable and reusable instruments.

    (Campbell, Nerry, McCarthy) Percent population per country living under $1.25 per day.

  2. Psychographics (social class, lifestyle, personality traits)

    According to the World Bank’s 2018 API spanning from 1995 to 2017, the graph above shows the percent population per country living under $1.25 per day. Because we are a synthetic biology team, Lambert iGEM recognizes the need to assist these communities first and foremost, where we can have the greatest impact with affordable diagnostics (LABYRINTH project) and affordable tools (bead homogenizer). Lambert iGEM compiled surveys from different iGEM groups in order to assess the need base of our bead homogenizer.

    Lambert iGEM contacted several other iGEM teams to collect information via survey regarding funds and bead homogenization. The results from the surveys are shown above.

Competitors

    Product 1: Omni Bead Ruptor 24 Bead Mill Homogenizer

  • Broadest processing range (0.8 m/s - 8 m/s)
  • Designed for grinding, lysing, and homogenization
  • Price: $10,331.32
  • Supplier: 19-040E

    • Product 2: IKA T 25 Digital Mechanical Homogenizer

  • Can homogenize viscous substances (up to 5000 mPas) in short period of time
  • Can homogenize hard-to-mix solid/liquid or liquid/liquid or gaseous/liquid samples
  • Price: $2,011.00

    • Product 3: KINEMATICA POLYTRON® PT 10-35GT Mechanical Homogenizer

  • Successor of PT10-35GT, the most popular homogenizer in the market for decades
  • Quick coupling, adapting more than 30 different generators
  • High performance motor for tough samples
  • Price: $4769.00 - $6198.00

    • Product 4: PRO Scientific DPS-20® Dual Processing Systems

  • Combines full automation of mechanical homogenizing and ultrasonic sonication methods
  • Closed, compact, and timesaving
  • Price: $16,298.00

    • OpenCell has a relatively low cost and high applicability in diagnostics compared to industrial bead homogenizers.

    PRODUCT AND SERVICE

    Overview

    Introducing Lambert iGEM’s portable, frugal, and battery-powered DNA bead homogenizer: OpenCell Pro. Designed for use by on-site healthcare professionals and underprivileged labs across the globe, OpenCell Pro addresses the need for inexpensive laboratory tools in poorly-resourced diagnostic laboratories. By overturning traditional industrial homogenizers with prices ranging in the thousands, OpenCell Pro can help laboratories inexpensively and rapidly break down infectious material to extract genetic material for diagnostics.

    How It Works

    In principle, bead mill homogenizer functions at high velocities to grind, lyze, and mix biological samples. In the closed system, collisions between the beads and the sample shear the sample at the macro level, while collisions between the beads and tube shear at a micro level. Advantageously, bead homogenizers allow for high through-put applications and minimized cross-contamination (Bead Mill Homogenization). Under the same mechanism, Lambert iGEM uses epicyclic gearing, where the gears are mounted revolving around the center. The tubes maintain their orientation throughout the spin, creating strong centrifugal forces on 4 key points of the tube. Lambert iGEM also incorporates an an arduino and speed controller, allowing for display of real-time RPM and adjustability for sample type. Leading researcher in soft matter and frugal science, Saad Bhamla, has assisted Lambert iGEM with the design.

    OpenCell has several separate layers of varying components that comprise the OpenCell system.

    Test Results

    Georgia State University has tested our printed model. They used both a commercial homogenizer and our frugal model to homogenize microalgae samples. The commercial homogenizer's sample was too aggressive for the microalgae, producing minimal live cells. However, the versatility of OpenCell allowed effective homogenization of the microalgae and yielded live, motile cells.

    Lambert iGEM tested OpenCell in a collaboration with GSU.

    SWOT Analysis

    Lambert iGEM performed a SWOT Analysis ( Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) for OpenCell Pro Marketing.

    MARKETING AND SALES

    Product Cost Breakdown

    * Disclaimer: No members of the team were paid employees and therefore no salaries or labor charges were taken into account.

    Financial Projections

    For every unit sold ($50 USD) we will make $28.27 USD. To offset the initial start-up costs of $535 USD we will need to sell 19 units before we start to make a profit. Raw material costs can be brought down with mass production.

    Distribution

    We look to non-profit organizations for laboratory equipment distribution such as seedlinglabs.org, and thereagentproject.org, and government agencies in the CDC and NSF (National Science Foundation).

    REFERENCES

    [1] Bead Mill Homogenization. (0AD). Retrieved from https://homogenizers.net/pages/ac-bead-mill-homogenization BeadBug™ 6 Position Homogenizer. (0AD). Retrieved from https://www.thomassci.com/Equipment-and-Instruments/Homogenizers/_/BeadBug-6-Position-Homogenizer?q=BeadHomogenizer

    [2] Campbell, S. J., Nery, S. V., McCarthy, J. S., Gray, D. J., Magalhaes, R. J. S., & Clements, A. C. A. (2016, January 12). A Critical Appraisal of Control Stategies for Soil-Transmitted Helminths. Retrieved from https://www.cell.com/trends/parasitology/fulltext/S1471-4922(15)00217-2

    [3] Calman, L. (2015, November 16). Column: Lack of Operational Medtech Equipment in Developing World. Retrieved from https://www.medtechintelligence.com/column/lack-of-operational-medtech-equipment-in-developing-world/

    [4] Denton, L. (2011, July 15). The Right Choice For Homogenization. Retrieved from https://www.labmanager.com/lab-product/2011/07/the-right-choice-for-homogenization#.XYwz3HdFyM8

    [5] Eze, S., Ijomah, W., & Wong, T. C. (2019, January 4). Accessing medical equipment in developing countries through remanufacturing. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13243-018-0065-7

    [6] Homogenizing Systems. (0AD). Retrieved from https://www.labcompare.com/General-Laboratory-Equipment/5173-Homogenizing-Systems/

    [7] Life Sciences And Laboratory Equipment Market Worth 55,932.4 Million USD By 2023 |. (2018, November 29). Retrieved from https://www.medgadget.com/2018/11/life-sciences-and-laboratory-equipment-market-worth-55932-4-million-usd-by-2023.html

    [8] McNerney, R. (2015, May 19). Diagnostics for Developing Countries. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4665590/

    [9] Oman, C. B., Gamaniel, K. S., & Addy, M. E. (0AD). Properly Functioning Scientific Equipment In Developing Countries. Retrieved from https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/ac069434o

    [10] Ostan, I., Kilimcioğlu, A. A., Girginkardeşler, N., Ozyurt, B. C., Limoncu, M. E., & Ok, U. Z. (2007, November 27). Health inequities: lower socio-economic conditions and higher incidences of intestinal parasites. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2211470/

    [11] Research, Z. M. (2018, September 13). Global Laboratory Equipment Services Market Will Reach USD 14.7 Billion By 2024: Zion Market Research. Retrieved from https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2018/09/13/1570374/0/en/Global-Laboratory-Equipment-Services-Market-Will-Reach-USD-14-7-Billion-By-2024-Zion-Market-Research.html

    [12] Sumant, O., & Shinde, S. (2019, April). Laboratory Equipment and Disposables Market by Product Type (Equipment [Incubator, Laminar Flow Hood, Micro Manipulation Systems, Centrifuges, Lab Air Filtration System, Scopes, Sonicators & Homogenizers, Autoclaves & Sterilizers, Spectrophotometers & Microarray Equipment, and Others] and Disposables [Pipettes, Tips, Tubes, Cuvettes, Dishes, Gloves, Masks, Cell Imaging Consumables, Cell Culture Consumables]): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2018 - 2025. Retrieved from https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/laboratory-equipment-and-disposables-market