Replicating the dynamic nature of human physiology in test tubes for better drug development and treatment selection.
.png)
Accurate Synthetic Models
For Drug Development
It is time to move beyond traditional clinical models to a solution that provides adaptive, scalable, and accurate simulations of human physiology for efficient and effective drug development. It is time to think beyond the mouse.
For Treatment Selection
Antibiotic resistance remains an enormous challenge leading to millions of deaths each year. It is time to provide accurate human physiology models to improve antibiotic treatment selection for patients in need.
About Synthbiome
SynthBiome’s overall mission is to design synthetic environments to mimic the physiological conditions that microorganisms encounter in their natural environments. We manufacture specialized growth media, including synthetic media that imitate CF-sputum and chronic wound environments.
Founded By:
Marvin Whiteley, PhD
Georgia Tech
&
THE TECHNOLOGY
SCFM1 and SCFM2
All versions of synthetic cystic fibrosis medium (SCFM) are defined as nutritionally complex, synthetic media originally based on the free amino acid, anion, cation, and carbon-source profiles from CF sputum (Palmer et al. 2007). Our SCFMs are benchmarked by the Accuracy Score (AS2) as defined in Cornforth et al. (2020) and measured for the Pseudomonas aeruginosa CF-lung core genome as defined in Lewin et al. (2023).
Academic Literature
The following papers from Marvin Whiteley’s lab are starting points for the respective versions of SCFM:
-
SCFM1 described in Palmer et al. (2007)
-
​SCFM2 is SCFM1 supplemented with DNA, mucin, GlcNAc, and DOPC*, see Turner et al. (2015)
*The concentrations of all components are chosen similar to those observed in CF sputum.
SCFM1
SCFM1 is a medium suitable for the growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in an environment that emulates the conditions of the cystic fibrosis lung infection. SCFM1 is a clear, sterile medium.​
SCFM2
SCFM2 is a medium suitable for the growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and/or Staphylococcus aureus in an environment that emulates the conditions of the cystic fibrosis lung infection. SCFM2 is a turbid, sterile medium.​​​
Quality control of our in vitro models
During our quality control steps, we test for adequate growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in SCFM1 and SCFM2. Furthermore, we test for adequate growth of Staphylococcus aureus in SCFM2.
​
SCFM2 has been used to study, among others, the following bacterial species:
-
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
-
Staphylococcus aureus
-
Burkholderia cenocepacia
-
Haemophilus influenzae
Our Solutions
Chronic Wound Media
As an in vitro model for chronic wound infections, we offer the LCWB (Lubbock Chronic Wound Biofilm Model), see Sun et al. (2008). It supports growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis.
In Vitro Model Development
We are also open to developing new formulations that optimize the expression of certain focal genes in a specific bacterial species. Please contact us to start a conversation on how this can help your projects to succeed.
In addition to media for CF- and chronic wound-related research, we are also developing new synthetic environments for other human infections (esp. oral, skin and urinary tract infections).