Huntsville, Ala. — Volatile Analysis Corporation has established a research and development division at the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology to research volatile metabolites produced by infectious diseases. The goal of the new division is to apply odor-detecting methods to disease detection and develop early warning and rapid, non-invasive, affordable diagnostic tests.
“Volatile signatures of disease can be detected at ultra-trace levels, and techniques are non-invasive,” said Volatile Analysis CEO, Katherine Bazemore. “Our research division at HudsonAlpha is helping identify those volatile signatures and also developing portable technologies to deploy in areas with limited resources.”
Founded in 2007 by Russell and Katherine Bazemore, the team of Ph.D.-level scientists at Volatile Analysis has more than 70 combined years of experience in solving chemical problems using analytical method development, sensory assessment, sample preparation, trace level measurement and data interpretation.
The Volatile Analysis’ original mission was to detect and measure volatile metabolites indicative of disease states, which lead to the development of patent pending technologies to improve capabilities. Today, endeavors in odor measurement have evolved to include global clientele who seek answers to problems associated with trace level aroma active chemicals.
The associate company has been an avid participant in global projects including partnering with the USDA to study the food safety applied to whey protein for the dairy industry. Additionally, the company is currently pursuing USDA funding for cocoa bean olfactory research. “As the science of agriculture and plant genomics continues to advance, we are very excited and uniquely capable of helping companies and researchers understand subsequent impacts of genomics and aroma flavor,” said Bazemore.
In addition, Volatile is investigating the potato odor present in individual beans of many coffee plants, thus disrupting coffee manufacturers’ processes due to off-odor. The investigation is producing new information to enhance the understanding of the true chemicals responsible for the problem so that mitigation of the problem, whether it is due to a mutation or other causes, can be resolved.
Bazemore said bringing the research division to HudsonAlpha was a good decision because Volatile Analysis can not only continue to grow but also contribute to the research being conducted by both faculty investigators and other associate companies.
“Having Volatile Analysis at HudsonAlpha adds value to HudsonAlpha’s vision of improving human health and agriculture,” said HudsonAlpha Vice President for Economic Development Carter Wells. “We welcome Volatile as they continue their work in disease detection and diagnostics, as well as their work on food safety.”
