NanoCon Newswire
Aug. 22, 2006 – NanoInk, Inc., an emerging growth technology company specializing in nanometer-scale manufacturing and applications development in the life sciences and semiconductor industries, announced today that it has been awarded a $735,000 Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The Grant will be used to develop novel, biologically functional nanostructures that dramatically enhance the reproducibility, sensitivity, and spatial density of chip-based assays.
“Creation of these nanostructures will improve life science applications ranging from point-of-care diagnosis to genomic and proteomic arrays used in basic research by enabling the development of next generation screening technologies that are faster, more sensitive, more reliable, and possibly more cost-effective than those presently available,” said Cedric Loiret-Bernal, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of NanoInk.
To accomplish this objective, NanoInk will develop a patterning methodology based on Dip Pen Nanolithography (DPN(R)) technology to generate sub-micron sized features on solid surfaces. The DPN method, built upon the technique of Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), allows materials to be deposited uniformly in a direct-write fashion on surfaces with nanoscale spatial precision. This approach offers significant advantages over current microarray printing technologies that suffer from poor location-to-location reproducibility in terms of size, shape, and biomolecule density, as well as reproducibility across microarray slides.
NanoInk will also develop a nanoarray fabrication platform consisting of a DPN arrayer, parallel multipen arrays with integrated microfluidic inking systems and appropriate pen and surface modification chemistry to allow patterning with a variety of biomolecules.
The final product of this ongoing NIH-supported research is expected to result in significant near and long-term commercial applications for the biotechnology industry.
About NanoInk
NanoInk, Inc. is an emerging growth technology company specializing in nanometer-scale manufacturing and applications development for the life sciences and semiconductor industries. With DPN(R), a patented and proprietary nanofabrication technology that allows for unmatched flexibility and accuracy, and also its high-resolution Nanoencryption(TM) technology, NanoInk is able to offer its pharmaceutical customers innovative solutions to fight counterfeiting and illegal diversion of blockbuster pharmaceutical products. Other key applications include nanoscale additive repair, and nanoscale rapid prototyping. Located in the new Illinois Science + Technology Park, north of Chicago, NanoInk currently has over 100 issued or pending patents and patent applications filed worldwide and has licensing agreements with Northwestern University, Stanford University, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. For more information on products and services offered by NanoInk, Inc., see www.nanoink.net.
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SOURCE: NanoInk