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The ability to precisely detect and measure smell and taste is essential to solving challenges like identifying off-notes in food and beverages, locating fraud and contaminants in raw materials, providing an objective measure of flavors and fragrances, and even getting the tell-tale whiff of disease. Unfortunately, the methods that work outside controlled laboratory settings have been hampered by cost, calibration and accuracy, variability in sources or environmental factors, and data handling.
The good news is that nature has solved this problem through 400 million years of insect evolution. Remarkably, an adult fly possesses a sophisticated arsenal of 45 receptors, each finely tuned to respond to specific chemicals within its sensory world, resulting in receptors that are 1,000 more sensitive than a dog’s nose. The distinct responses of these receptors create a complex and unique odor “fingerprint”, allowing the fly to navigate its environment with precision. Scientists have sought a way to harness this ability that’s both accessible and scalable. This is why we are thrilled to announce Toyota Ventures’ investment in New Zealand-based Scentian Bio, a biosensor platform unlocking the power of insect-level smell and taste sensitivity.
Founded in 2020 by CTO Andrew Kralicek, Scentian Bio emerged as a spin-out from the New Zealand Institute of Plant and Food Research, with a mission to blend insect biology and nanotechnology to spur a sensing revolution. The company’s CEO, Jonathan Good, is a seasoned entrepreneur who has a track record of steering strategy and innovation in prominent corporate leadership roles. The duo leads a team of experts who harness deep knowledge in molecular olfaction, biological science, economics, and computer science.
Based on 20 years of research in the field, Scentian Bio is pioneering biosensors that utilize insect olfactory receptors (iORs) that are capable of detecting a wide range of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) with unparalleled sensitivity, down to the level of a single molecule. The VOCs possess the capacity to serve as crucial signals reflecting the state of biological systems — essentially, a chemical code awaiting interpretation. Scentian Bio synthesizes iOR proteins and couples them with a sensing platform that is able to capture the odor response of each receptor digitally and produce a read-out for interpretation or sample identification. To do this, the company has unlocked a method of utilizing iORs with their incredible sensitivity rates and efficiency (Drosophila insect family uses between 45–60 iORs to detect thousands of VOCs). The low number of receptors allows them to develop a sensor array capable of detecting many different VOCs based on only a small number of iORs.
“Insects, shaped by 400 million years of evolution, have perfected the art of detecting organic compounds through scent receptors that contain sensitivity levels a million times better than humans and a thousand times better than dogs. Scentian Bio’s team of world-class scientists and biosensor technologists is bringing how insects smell to market. We’re excited to support them as they apply this amazing technology to food, flavor, fragrances, and wellness.”
— Jim Adler, founder and general partner, Toyota Ventures
Scentian Bio’s biosensor platform has a wide range of market applications, with some significant opportunities being within the health detection and monitoring sector. Within living organisms, measuring VOCs offers a non-invasive, direct, and dynamic method for assessing the activity of proteins and cells. Recent research has showcased the potential of using VOCs as biomarkers for disease diagnosis, with studies illustrating the use of insects in disease detection for conditions like COVID-19 and cancer.
To do this, Scentian Bio has developed a process that interprets signals from biosensors, analogous to the neuronal network of an insect to interpret smell. By taking an array of receptors and coupling them to Scentian Bio’s flow cell (chip), the company is able to read the ion channel activity that is produced in response to the sample collected. Then the combinatorial responses pattern, or fingerprint, that is produced is compared with a library of fingerprints using artificial intelligence to find a match and make a decision on what the VOCs that were detected indicate. Through this process, the company aims to build out the platform to support a broad range of use cases, including food and flavor quality control and food-pathogen detection, non-invasive rapid disease diagnostics, sustainable farming and environmental and wellness monitoring.
As part of the Toyota Ventures Frontier Fund, we are proud to support the Scentian team as they work to launch a quality control solution for the food industry by co-leading Scentian Bio’s $2.1 million funding round with Finistere Ventures and participation from Icehouse Ventures, Our Crowd, and others.
Visit Scentian Bio’s website and the Toyota Ventures portfolio page to learn more.