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On Friday March 22, 2019, the Matrix VII building in Amsterdam Science Park was officially opened. This vibration free office-cum-lab houses various companies, including the Advanced Research Center for Nanolithography (ARCNL), a ‘triple helix’ cooperative between NWO, UvA, VU and ASML.* The building was designed by a team consisting of Deerns, Ector Hoogstad Architects and IMd engineering consultancy. The hybrid office-lab building has more than 9,000 square meters of office space that is easily convertible into labs should the need arise.

I’ve actually written this column a little early, because the real Taco Day is celebrated on October 4. But hey, I can’t help the fact that there’s no LABinsights edition planned for that day. Besides, my topic today is bigger than just me. I’d like to call your attention to the importance of standardization in the widest sense of the word. As you may know, I am the 2019 Chairman of the Board of Directors of ASTM International. I consider it a great honor to represent more than 32,000 international volunteers.

This shows the complete history of the sampling cycle Today’s clinical genomics and bio-pharmaceutical research laboratories and contract research organizations are increasingly challenged by enormous amounts of data, they need to manage, process and interpret, often in a highly regulated environment. Advanced scientific data management solutions optimize workflows, increase output and enable instrument and data connectivity within and between lab organizations in a compliant way, says Nicole Rose, responsible for Product Applications, Digital Science at Thermo Fisher Scientific. Particularly industry companies in their growth stage - let’s say the clinical genomics start-ups - produce huge amounts of data, when using for example next generation sequence techniques and likewise and also face strict regulatory compliance requirements.

Simplifying laboratory procurement Lab Innovations will return to the NEC, Birmingham, for its 8th successive year on 30 & 31 October 2019. As the UK’s only laboratory industry dedicated trade show, and ‘Best Trade Show’ winner at the 2019 Exhibition News awards, it is growing annually, supported by many of the UK’s leading scientific insti- tutions. This year will be the largest ever show, with over 160 leading scientific suppliers providing more product launches, innovation and discussion than ever before.

MVRDV designs Matrix 1 for Amsterdam Science Park Located in the heart of Amsterdam Science Park is MVRDV’s design for Matrix 1, an office and laboratory complex that combines standard laboratories with playful and spacious social areas. The University of Amsterdam (UvA) has reached an agreement to occupy around a quarter of the 13,000m2 building to host the SustainaLab, a specialist facility for research into sustainability that aims to stimulate creative cooperation between education, research, government, and entrepreneurship.

Metagenomics benefits forensic science through microbial profiling By comparing the microbial profiles taken from a suspect’s hand and from an object found at a crime scene, it is pos- sible to assess the probability that the suspect was present there when the crime was committed. Humans, on average, have 150 types of microbes on their hands. This population is unique enough to be used as a means of identification. Moreover, microbial profiles show the origins of the tissue found in a trace. Peter de Knijff, professor of population and evolution genetics at Leiden University Medical Center’s department of Human Genetics, explains why this is such an exciting breakthrough. “The main problem in forensics is usually the lack of DNA. A human body cell contains just 6 picograms of DNA. The success of DNA testing depends largely on the amount of cell material on the surface and the time that has elapsed since it was last touched.” As De Knijff, who also heads the forensic lab for DNA testing (FLDO), points out, “microbial profiling is a totally different kettle of fish, because there’s usually plenty of bacteria available at the crime scene.”

OMT Solutions: specialized in optical measurements and testing He was working as a researcher at TNO [Netherlands Orga- nisation for Applied Scientific Research] when he founded the Optical Measurements and Testing working group, in 1995. Van Nijnatten’s group grew quickly and soon employed five people. In 2008, he decided to take the leap and continue his business under the name OMT Solutions at the Dutch High Tech Campus Eindhoven. With its modern office space and high-qua- lity electrotechnical labs, the campus attracts many young high- tech companies active in R&D. And it wasn’t just its facilities that attracted OMT. It was “the whole campus climate. It’s got a great reputation and that rubs off on the companies that are housed here. The infrastructure is great, too. Suppose you need liquid nitrogen or specific gases. It’s just a phone call away. Our activities fall under the environmental permit for the whole High Tech Campus, so we never have to apply for separate permits. There are so many facilities here that companies can use. It’s a well-oiled machine, which makes it very pleasant to work here.”

The payback period can be surprisingly short “We are known for our process analysis sensors, which measure parameters like temperature, pressure, pH, oxygen content and conductivity. These sensors are used in pharmaceutical bio processes. They are validated for that environment and can support head-to-tail processes. However, they’re also suitable for research purposes and can be used at lab or pilot scale. We’re talking 3 to 100 liter bioreactors then. Our industrial probes work just as well in a lab. Obviously, this makes scaling up all the easier: you’re working with FDA-compliant equipment right from the start and the same sensor can be used at any scale, even in a one thousand-liter tank. And all the data are collected in a LIMS. Thanks to our takeover of Kaiser Optical Systems about five years ago, we also sell Raman spectroscopes. Raman is a multi-parameter technology that allows you to do multiple checks simultaneously.

With a new laboratory especially for processing seaweed, ECN / TNO has expanded its capacity to research technologies that convert biomass into sustainable biofuels and renewable raw materials. The lab, located in Petten, the Netherlands, will be used to explore seaweed’s great potential as a renewable energy source. With a daily processing capacity of 50 kilos of wet seaweed, the lab is the largest of its kind worldwide. It boasts flexibly deployable test facilities for the development of methods to turn seaweed into biofuel and biobased materials. In the lab, the seaweed is divided into sugars, proteins and minerals for processing into semi- finished products.

As the use of biodiesel increases, so does the importance of Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (FAME) analyses. A year ago, Bureau Veritas’ Amterdam lab invested in special equipment to quickly analyze FAME samples from ship cargoes. Bureau Veritas’ laboratory in the Port of Amsterdam specializes in analyzing gasoline, diesel, fuel oil and aviation fuel. Not far from the lab, tankers carrying shipments of these fuels navigate the North Sea Canal. No ship is allowed to load or unload its cargo until the fuel quality has been checked by an independent laboratory. Which is why Bureau Veritas has a team of analysts on standby 24-7. They check samples and deliver their quality control results as fast as possible. Their tests include density measurements, fuel composition and octane or cetane number.

The Southern Ocean is getting warmer, and therefore quickly melting the Antarctic ice cap. It’s unclear whether this process is reversible, and if not, how long it will take for it to melt entirely. Lab research on some of the oldest known seabed sediment may in the next few decades shed light on these ice and ocean dynamics. At Utrecht University, the research is being done by OceaNice, a project that got underway in February 2019 and is led by Peter Bijl, who holds a PhD in the environmental and climatological evolution of the early Paleogene Southern Ocean.