sustainable innovation to fully benefit from the excellence of Nature
an eco-sustainable biotech platform, capable of capturing the benefits of the plant kingdom for the common good
Nature is subjected to external factors that have a strong impact on the variability of the content of the active metabolites of plants, to the detriment of the reproducibility of the phytocomplex.
Aethera Biotech, thanks to its know-how and the determination and passion of its researchers, has developed CROP® (Controlled Release of Optimized Plants), a proprietary and innovative biotech platform based on in vitro cultures. Through this technology, non-GMO and alternative to traditional cultivation methods, it is possible to obtain a highly standardized phytocomplex for a safe use in the personal care, nutrition, pharma and farm care sectors.
The biological foundation of in vitro cultures is grounded on cellular totipotency, a feature that gives plants the ability to replicate and reproduce from a simple fragment of plant tissue and allows the regeneration of a new plant with the same morphological and phytochemical profile.
Without potential quantity limits, CROP® allows the production of those active ingredients that are difficult to find in nature or difficult to produce by chemical synthesis, free from seasonal variations and availability and geographical limits, together with a high safety, eco-sustainability profile fully respecting the biodiversity.
This platform, which has one of the largest production capacities in Europe, is also the shortest supply chain ever: from cultivation to the final product, everything takes place in the same factory, automated and managed with computerised processes based on work instructions, collection of information from the environment and from the plants, which in return allow the production of certified reports, according to data integrity paradigms, to ensure the quality of product and accurate traceability.
the process
1
from the mother plant to the mother culture
We select and certify each mother plant through the DNA fingerprint technique. After the delicate phases of sanitization of plant explants and induction of callogenesis, our researchers define the composition of the ideal culture medium to obtain the best production of metabolites and stabilize the cells on solid medium.
2
stabilization in liquid medium
We transfer the selected mother culture to liquid medium to ensure optimal cell growth and production. In partnership with the University, we develop specific analytical methods for the chemical composition of the phytocomplex using sophisticated and cutting-edge tools such as UPLC.
3
scale up in bioreactor
Our engineers and biotechnologists, during the scale up phase, test the efficiency of the process by optimizing each single phase (growth of plant biomass, filtration, lysis, homogenization and drying) always considering the results obtained on a laboratory scale and the specifications of product requests.
4
biological activities e product specification
We collaborate with the best research centers to identify new specific and reproducible biological activities that allow us to develop unique ingredients on the market. Thanks to the peculiarities of the CROP® technological platform, our products can be patented.
the meristematic cell, our biofactory
The meristematic cell is the key element of our process. It is characterized by a high plasticity that allows it to respond quickly to epigenetic stimuli that result in the biosynthesis of specific metabolites. A cell line placed under different growth conditions (composition of the culture medium, environmental stress …) expresses different secondary and primary metabolites. Our CROP® platform uses the potential of meristematic cells to produce highly standardized active ingredients.
