Tuesday, 29th August 2006 (4393 views)

Nanotechnology firm Oxonica has signed a licence agreement with medical company BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) for its Nanoplex technology.

Nanoplex is based on gold nanoparticles that have a unique label on their surface. This is used as a "tag" that can be attached "to a wide range of biological markers from infectious diseases, such as flu, through to cancers".

Scientists are able to identify diseases using a method called Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS), which involves an extremely sensitive laser-based reader.

The agreement with BD will involve a co-operative research programme that will develop the Nanoplex technology.

"I am delighted that we have entered into this relationship with BD, a leader in the clinical diagnostics field, and we look forward to working together to develop products for use in both hospital laboratory and point-of-care settings," said David Browning, chief executive of Oxonica Healthcare.

Gold nanoparticles have many biomedical applications – other recent research includes Swedish scientists using gold nanospheres as carriers in the body. They are useful because they do not affect certain immune system cells.

 

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