Spicer Lab deuteration platform moves towards commercialisation

Posted on Monday 16 June 2025

Dr Ksenia Stankevich has been awarded a place on the Innovate UK ICURe Discover programme to move a novel isotopic labelling platform, developed in the Spicer Lab, towards commercialisation. The new technology simplifies access to molecules containing deuterium, a heavy isotope of hydrogen. These molecules are vital tools for academic and industrial labs, but are often difficult and expensive to access, especially complex molecules such as peptides and proteins. In contrast, the Spicer Lab’s user-friendly method achieves deuteration with high precision in minutes under very mild conditions, making isotopic labelling safer, workflows faster, and operations simpler.

Dr Stankevich will explore the market for the new technology and strategic collaborations with industry, with support from Dr Jessica Dobson from the University of York’s Commercialisation Team and the SETsquared Partnership. Talking about the breakthrough technology, Dr Stankevich said: “In the Spicer Lab, we believe that every researcher should be free to explore ideas without technical barriers. That's why we develop robust, easy-to-use chemical tools that give scientists in academia and industry fast access to the isotopically labeled compounds they need - so they can focus on what truly matters: discovery”