June 19, 2008, Updated September 13, 2012

Not all water is the same, says Do-Coop Technologies, inventor of Neowater.Water covers 70 percent of the earth, and makes up about 60 percent of our bodies. Without it, life as we know it would not exist. But when it comes to biological processes, not all water is created equal. So believes the Israeli company Do-Coop Technologies, which has developed a new kind of water — Neowater — one that more closely resembles what is found in our bodies.

The company says that water found in the sea, in the tap and in a cup of tea is “unstructured,” and different from “structured” water found clinging to the large surface area inside the cells of living organisms, and in our bodies, where biological reactions take place.

This difference, affects the outcome of experiments done in test tubes and the way new drugs are developed and their effects measured and perceived.

To create a paradigm shift in the test tube, in 1997 the company set out to invent a new kind of water, similar to the physical properties of water in our body’s cells. Using nanotechnology and the advice of award-winning researchers from Israeli universities, Neowater mimics the water found in our bodies giving scientists the ability to more closely simulate in-vivo (in the body) reactions in a test tube.

Through a complex process Do-Coop alters the physical properties of water using inorganic crystals, and is now commercializing its first product, Neowater, in biotechnology, pharmaceutical and chemical applications. No less than a revolution could happen if the industry responds to Do-Coop’s technology.

Improving the solubility of biological materials is one advantage of Neowater, says Irit Gabbai the administrative manager of Do-Coop: “The water becomes more hydrophobic,” she tells ISRAEL21c at Israel’s annual Biomed convention in Tel Aviv. Neowater could give developers new possibilities for testing the efficacy of new and existing drugs, and could also remove the toxic effects of others, she explains.

It’s been hard marketing the novel technology she says, because it requires scientists in the world to rethink how they conduct their experiments. Normally biologists today use double-distilled and deionized water in the laboratory.

Do-Coop claims its Neowater to be a superior choice as it more closely imitates the water found in the intracellular environment, leading to significant improvements in the delivery of injectable, oral, inhales and topical drugs. The product can also work as a “super” catalyst, reagent, surfactant or buffer, according to the company’s website.

Located in Or Yehuda near Tel Aviv, the company’s staff of 25 includes specialists in nanotechnology, chemistry, physics and biology. Although educating the world about this technology has not been without its challenges, Neowater could very well be “industry-changing,” concludes Gabbai.

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