The Universitat Jaume I of Castelló and the company Semicrol, S.L. are developing a research project with the aim of creating an innovative platform to reuse the innumerable animal experimentation samples stored in research laboratories and rationalise their use in order to significantly reduce the number of animals used for scientific purposes.
Credit: Universitat Jaume I de Castellón
The Universitat Jaume I of Castelló and the company Semicrol, S.L. are developing a research project with the aim of creating an innovative platform to reuse the innumerable animal experimentation samples stored in research laboratories and rationalise their use in order to significantly reduce the number of animals used for scientific purposes.
Animal research plays a fundamental role in understanding the biological mechanisms involved in diseases and in the development of medical treatments, although it involves a high cost for the animals. Without them, most of the medicines, antibiotics, vaccines and surgical techniques used in human and veterinary medicine would not be available.
Funded by the R&D&I Programme in Strategic Lines in public-private collaboration of the Spanish Research Agency of the Ministry of Science and Innovation in the 2022 call for proposals, the ARUKON tool is intended to revolutionise scientific research through the reuse of samples, at a time when society is searching for ethical alternatives to reduce the number of animals in experimentation.
With the completion of the first part of the project, the first module of the free global sample manager has been made available to research staff, which will allow a progressive reduction in the number of animals used in science, but without compromising the impact and benefits of biomedical research.
The ARUKON platform offers innovative solutions to the different publics involved in the process, such as research staff, through collaboration and synergy between groups, by optimising their resources and adding value to the samples already extracted; or public and private institutions, by reducing their costs with income from the sale of unused samples and optimising storage space in laboratories.
It will also favour the deployment of innovative policies in public administrations to effectively reduce the use of experimental animals and will respond to citizens’ demands for a reduction in the number of animals sacrificed for scientific purposes.
The ARUKON project, led by the Universitat Jaume I of Castelló in collaboration with the company Semicrol, S.L., combines scientific knowledge and industrial experience to promote ethical and efficient research. The consultancy firm Ayming participates as the project’s technical office, ensuring efficient execution and providing comprehensive support.
Professor Javier S. Burgos from the Applied Biomedicine Research Group (BIOTRANSFER-UJI) presented this new technological solution at the 17th Congress of the Spanish Society for Laboratory Animal Sciences (SECAL) held in Santiago de Compostela at the end of 2023.
The animal experimentation carried out at the UJI complies with legal standards and is reviewed by an ethical committee for animal experimentation that promotes the use of alternative methods, the reduction of the number of animals used and the refinement of experimental procedures. It adheres to the 2016 Agreement on Transparency in Animal Experimentation, promoted by the Confederation of Spanish Scientific Societies (COSCE), with the collaboration of the European Association for Animal Research (EARA).
More information: arukoninfo@gmail.com
Method of Research
Computational simulation/modeling
Subject of Research
Animals
