Bioprospecting at Box Hill

Victoria's Box Hill TAFE and US-owned PaleoTechnology Australia have officially opened a new on-site laboratory for Box Hill's biotechnology degree students.

The laboratory will be used to train students in hands-on lab skills such as extraction, bioprospecting and HPLC/GC.

Box Hill and PaleoTechnology came together last year to launch Australia's - and probably the world's - first agreement of its kind, in which PaleoTechnology will act as a company-in-residence at Box Hill.

In addition to studying undergrad-level subjects such as molecular biology and biochemistry, and regulatory issues such as project management and biostatistics, the students will work in the laboratory for a stipend.

The agreement is worth $6.1 million over five years.

The students will also work with patented equipment to run PaleoTechnology's proprietary gaseous solvent extraction technology (GSET) processes, the company's chairman and CEO, Kelly Nelson, said.

"GSET is a novel process defined by a suite of 24 patents for extracting potentially valuable compounds from a wide range of materials including plant matter and petrochemicals," he said.

"Students will get the chance to complete extraction projects using GSET that will aid in developing products for pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, industrial reagents and flavours and fragrances."

See Hunting down the oil-loving extremophiles for more information.