Canatu is applying its carbon‑nanotube (CNT)–based sensor technology to next‑generation animal‑health diagnostics in the VALABio research project coordinated by the University of Helsinki. The project develops early diagnostic methods by enabling more sensitive detection of disease‑related biological changes at an early stage. In the project, Canatu, Valio, Orion and other industrial partners combine nanotechnology with extracellular vesicle research to enable future innovations in the food, health and diagnostics sectors. Canatu’s share of the project is funded through the Business Finland Veturi funding received by the company.
In the VALABio project (VALorization of Animal‑based By‑products into BIOactive innovations), researchers and companies are jointly developing methods to refine valuable ingredients from dairy and meat industry side streams for use in food, pharmaceutical and diagnostics applications. The project aims to generate new scientific knowledge and early‑stage solutions that enable future innovations across the food, health and diagnostics sectors.
CNT‑based sensor technology enables early diagnostics
In the VALABio project, Canatu applies its CNT‑based sensor technology in a new biological context by combining it with extracellular vesicle (EV) research. The technology serves as a measurement platform that enables sensitive and rapid detection of biological information related to extracellular vesicles in early‑stage diagnostics. The platform’s potential extends from production‑animal health and food‑chain analytics to medical research in the longer term.
“Traditional diagnostics often rely on individual biomarkers. In the VALABio project, we are developing a new approach in which extracellular vesicles combined with CNT‑based analytics make it possible to utilise significantly richer biological information,” says Ilkka Varjos, Chief Technology Officer of Canatu.
Extracellular vesicles and bioactive ingredients add value to side streams
The key development areas of the VALABio project are bioactive peptides, collagen‑based ingredients and milk‑derived extracellular vesicles. EVs are natural nanoscale structures that carry biological information and have growing potential in new diagnostic solutions.
“Current animal‑based side streams contain significant amounts of nutritionally valuable ingredients. In a future food system, these components should be valorised and incorporated into the most suitable products, such as food and pharmaceuticals. This will subsequently increase the value of the entire domestic animal‑based value chain,” says Mikko Immonen, Project Manager at Valio.
“At Valio, we are particularly interested in better utilisation of extracellular vesicles and bioactive peptides from dairy production side streams. There is a lot to discover in peptides and dairy extracellular vesicles, which open an entirely new channel to deliver targeted health benefits through food. VALABio offers an exceptionally cross‑disciplinary consortium to build expertise in detecting, enriching and modifying target components from side streams,” Immonen continues.
The role of extracellular vesicles as a biological communication system has become increasingly evident in recent research.
“Food and animal‑health diagnostics provide opportunities to develop a new generation of biosensors. Research has identified that in humans, animals and food alike, there exists a communication system composed of very small, nanoscale vesicles produced by cells. Because these vesicles are also present in bodily fluids, they offer new possibilities for developing extremely sensitive, molecular‑level sensors in which biological information can be coupled to advanced measurement surfaces and analytics, for example, in early cancer detection and wearable diagnostics,” says Professor Seppo Vainio of the University of Oulu.
The EV‑based analytical and measurement solutions developed within the project lay the foundation for an entirely new diagnostics technology platform that goes beyond the limitations of conventional single‑biomarker approaches and enables more multidimensional, biology‑driven analysis.
Industrial expertise supports application development
In the VALABio project, industrial partners contribute their respective areas of expertise to the research. Valio brings its perspective on the utilisation of dairy side streams and the interface with the food industry, Orion Pharma participates in the evaluation of EV‑based solutions from a pharmaceutical research perspective, and Hankkija contributes practical insight from animal production and animal health environments. Canatu’s role in the project is to act as the developer of the enabling measurement technology for diagnostic and analytical concepts, leveraging its carbon nanotube technology.
Part of Canatu’s Carbon Age programme and the Veturi ecosystem
VALABio demonstrates in practice how the carbon nanotube and materials expertise developed within Canatu’s Carbon Age programme forms a cross‑cutting technology platform, with applications extending from the food value chain to animal health and further into health and biomedical research. In addition to Canatu’s Carbon Age programme, VALABio connects Valio’s Food 2.0 and Orion’s A Digital Boost for the Pharmaceutical R&D Veturi programmes.
The VALABio consortium brings together the University of Helsinki, the University of Oulu, Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences, and industrial partners Valio, Canatu, Hankkija, GMM Finland, Orion Pharma, Vetcare, HKFoods, Brinter, and Ginolis.