BIOINCUBATORS NURTURING ENTREPRENEURSHIP FOR SCALING TECHNOLOGIES (Bio-NEST) launched by Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) focuses on fostering the biotech innovation ecosystem in the country. Unlike startups in the IT sector, enterprising ideas in the biotech sector need incubation support of a different kind where they need a technical co-working space with high-end instrumentation, and a specialised ecosystem for product development/ clinical/ regulatory/ go-to-market strategies to build their enterprise. The BIRAC Bio-NEST programme provides such support to establish bio-incubators either as a standalone entity or as part of academia.
Incubation at Bio-NEST, Ahmedabad University
Ahmedabad University is one of the select institutions across the country approved for a Bio-NEST facility for bio-incubation by BIRAC, DBT. The key focus areas forBio-NEST are Medical Devices, Diagnostics, Biologics and Therapeutics, Industrial & Environment Biotech, and Agrotech, among other areas.
The Bio-NEST facility currently spans over an area of 6700 sq ft which includes over 4500 sq ft of laboratory space and 500 sq ft of office space. Additionally, about 6500 sq ft of space is available for expansion in the near future. The lab space includes a wet lab, an instrumentation lab, a microbiology lab, a sterilisation room, tissue culture labs and a storage room. The office space includes a collaborative workspace and a meeting room with A/V equipment for conferences, meetings and presentations.
Biochemistry Wet Lab
Spread over 1400 sq ft, the wet lab is a shared workspace with a 24-seater capacity. It has six individual work bays equipped with storage cabinets, 3-tier shelves, power points and a wash basin. It is equipped with basic instrumentation including microscopes, hot plate magnetic stirrers, vortex mixers, pH/conductivity meter, weighing balance and mini-centrifuges. Additionally, three individual labs for chromatography and other applications are also available.
Instrumentation Lab
The instrumentation lab is equipped with modern equipment for molecular biology, biochemical analysis and bio-processing related applications, including a lyophilizer, a sonicator water bath, a gel electrophoresis and a documentation system, thermal cyclers, an electroporator and a microplate reader.
Microbiology Lab
The microbiology lab is equipped with two digital, programmable laminar flow cabinets, two digital BOD Incubators with high temperature accuracy, and a digital, programmable shaker incubator with data logging capability.
Sterilisation Room
Equipped with two automatic, programmable autoclaves, a hot air oven and a washing area, the sterilisation room enables washing, drying, sterilisation and decontamination at a single place. Its separate air ventilation ducts ensure that the contaminated air is not mixed with the rest of the facility.
Tissue Culture Area
Spread over 270 sq ft, the tissue culture area is equipped with three individual labs, two class-II Biosafety Cabinets, CO2 incubators and imaging equipment. It has a separate air handling unit with two-stage air filters, which helps to minimise contamination and maintain a clean environment. The CO2 gas is sourced from an external cylinder housing with four-stage regulators, minimising the risk of gas leakage, contamination, asphyxiation and other gas hazards.
Critical Equipment Room
A separate area is available for critical cold-storage and backup equipment like refrigerators, deep freezers, ultra-low temperature freezers and liquid nitrogen storage tanks.
Office Space
The office space comprises a meeting room with a six-seater capacity and a collaborative workspace with an over-ten-seater capacity, equipped with multimedia equipment like a TV, a projector and a video conferencing device.
Facility Map
Map not to scale. Lab/room names are subject to change
Basic Instruments
Digital Vortex Mixer
Hot Plate Magnetic Stirrer
Microscope
Mini Centrifuge
pH/Conductivity Meter
Sonicator Water Bath With Heater
Water Bath With Shaker
Weighing Balance
Microbiology
Autoclave
BOD Incubator
Hot Air Oven
Laminar Flow Cabinet
Shaker Incubator
Molecular Biology
Electroporator
Gel Documentation Unit (Gel-Doc)
Horizontal Gel Electrophoresis Unit
Thermal cycler (PCR)
Vertical Gel Electrophoresis Unit
Chromatography
AKTA FPLC
GC-FID
Semi-preparative HPLC
Tissue Culture
Biosafety Cabinet
CO2 Incubator
Fluorescent Cell Imager
Inverted Microscope
Other Equipments
Air Compressor
Fume Hood
Lyophilizer
Probe Sonicator
Ultrapure (MilliQ) Water System
Online Instrument Booking Portal Usage Charges Usage Policy
NOTE: Usage charges and policy may be revised from time to time. Please check with the Incubation Manager for the latest version.
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BioNEST has an experienced team of well qualified members with a deep and diverse background in biosciences.
ARPIT SHUKLA
Incubation Manager
Arpit Shukla has over 10 years of experience in biochemistry with more than six years of experience in protein chemistry, enzymology and molecular biology. He served as a Scientist-B in 2020-21 at Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre before joining BioNEST. Arpit completed his Masters in Biochemistry in 2010 from MS University, Baroda, and went on to pursue a PhD in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from JNCASR, Bangalore.
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The Bio-NEST facility is open to startups, innovators, individuals, academic researchers and students. The usage charges and policy are given below.
If you are interested in using the facility, please write to us at [email protected]
Timings
Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 6:00 pm
Address
Bio-NEST Building
Near Gate no. 6, Central Campus
Ahmedabad University, Navrangpura
Ahmedabad 380009.
Landmark: MG Science College
Map Location
BioNEST Incubator
Email
[email protected]
[email protected] (Arpit Shukla, Incubation Manager)