Solutions

Open by design. Focused environmental solutions.

For some questions, better sampling is enough. For others, we combine sampling, sensing and interpretation into a complete solution, working with your existing analytical partners or bringing in the right expertise where needed.

Discuss a programme Start with source tracking

What these have in common

Different questions. The same sampling challenge.

Source tracking, resistance surveillance and invasive species monitoring are different problems with a shared dependency: getting a result in the first place depends on collecting accurate, well-timed samples in the right place.

Once a signal is detected, understanding what it means depends on the context around that sample, including weather, upstream conditions, recent events and, in some cases, whether the target organism was likely to be active at the time.

That makes sampling and context part of the scientific question, not just a step before the analysis.

Aerial view of a water treatment works, its circular settlement tanks bordered by woodland and open water.
A river running between densely wooded banks, the gravel bed visible through clear turquoise water.
Water

Microbial Source Tracking

Knowing a watercourse is contaminated is rarely the hard part. Knowing where it came from, and under what conditions, is.

Faecal contamination reaching a river can come from wastewater infrastructure, livestock, wildlife, or different sources at different times. A result that only says contaminated has limited value for action because it does not identify the likely source or the conditions under which it is contributing.

Microbial source tracking helps narrow that down. Event-driven sampling allows samples to be collected when rainfall, run-off or other catchment conditions indicate that a source may be contributing, rather than relying only on a fixed calendar.

  • Distinguish likely source classes, including human, livestock and wildlife
  • Use event-driven sampling around rainfall, run-off and other relevant catchment conditions
  • Spread sampling points across a catchment to help narrow where contamination enters
Discuss a source tracking programme
Water

AMR Surveillance

Antimicrobial resistance moves through the environment along pathways, and those pathways are easier to understand when sampling follows them.

Many surveillance programmes rely on a limited number of locations sampled on a fixed schedule, even though important changes may occur around discharges, run-off, treatment processes and other catchment events.

Denser, event-driven and condition-aware sampling can add the spatial and temporal resolution needed to understand not just whether resistance is present, but where signals emerge, how they change through the catchment and which conditions are associated with them.

  • Increase sampling density around potential sources, pathways and events
  • Build temporal series at fixed points rather than relying on single snapshots
  • Use event-driven sampling around discharges, run-off and changing catchment conditions
  • Record environmental context alongside samples to support comparison and interpretation
Discuss an AMR programme
A disc diffusion susceptibility plate, with antibiotic discs and clear zones of inhibition in the bacterial lawn.
A CY45 cyclone air sampler on a tripod at a lough shore, with a connected sensor alongside and open water beyond.
Air + Water

Invasive & Non-Native Species

Detecting presence can be straightforward. Demonstrating absence with confidence is much harder.

A negative result from one point on one day says little about whether a species is truly absent. Confidence comes from covering the area systematically and sampling when the target is most likely to be detectable, which may depend on season, time of day or environmental conditions.

This is a strong case for combining media. Water can capture signals within the aquatic environment, while air can add complementary evidence from the surrounding landscape, including margins and areas that are difficult to reach from the bank.

  • Combine water and airborne detection according to species and pathway
  • Time sampling around periods when the target is most likely to be detectable, including at night where relevant
  • Build repeatable spatial coverage across a water body rather than relying on a single point

Our equipment is deployed in the EU-funded OneSTOP programme across five living labs in Finland, Romania, Belgium, the United Kingdom and Portugal.

Discuss an INNS programme

How an engagement works

You do not need to change laboratory.

A solution starts with the monitoring question and designs the sampling around it. What happens to the sample afterwards is flexible and can remain with the laboratory, methods and analytical partners you already use.

You can even continue working with the same sampling partners, while giving them access to Biota Trace technology to make sampling more systematic, scalable and event-driven.

You also do not need to buy instruments to get started. Biota Trace can run the sampling programme, provide instruments for a defined campaign, or supply the capability for you to operate directly.

Ways to work with us

  1. Start from the question

    Define what you need to know, where you need to know it and the level of confidence required. That shapes the target, sampling medium, timing and coverage.

  2. Design the sampling

    Choose the instruments, locations and sampling logic needed to answer the question, whether scheduled, event-driven or a combination of both.

  3. Keep, or bring, the analysis

    Samples can continue into your existing laboratory and analytical workflow, be analysed by Biota Trace, or be passed to one of our analytical partners where additional capability is needed.

  4. Interpret against the conditions

    Sampling can be considered alongside rainfall, flow, sensor data and other environmental conditions, helping place the molecular result in the context in which it was collected.

Where needed, Biota Trace can also use developing data pipelines to combine these inputs and generate deeper insights across samples, sites and events.

What the programmes run on

The same instruments, pointed at different questions.

No solution here needs bespoke hardware. Each programme is built from the same sampling layer, configured around the monitoring question.

Water

SP50 for responsive and campaign sampling, with Biota MAP for repeated, multi-temporal monitoring at fixed points.

SP50 & Biota MAP

Air

CY45 for airborne molecular sampling across the surrounding environment, with sampling periods aligned to the target and conditions.

CY45 air monitoring

Spatial

TRACE-E 120 for extending sampling and monitoring across a water body, including locations that are difficult to reach from the bank.

TRACE-E 120

Start with the monitoring problem

Tell us what you are trying to sample, detect or understand.

If your question does not fit neatly into one of these three areas, it is still worth asking. Many monitoring programmes combine elements of more than one.

Start a conversation See how the Platform works