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USING NANOTECHNOLOGY TO DEFEND AGAINGST BIO-TERRORISM

03/02/2004

"Nanotechnology has had some bad press but here it could have huge social benefits, such as defence against the ever-growing threat of bio-terrorism."

NanoSight Ltd, based in Salisbury, Wiltshire, has received a £100,000 investment from NESTA's Invention and Innovation programme, to further develop prototypes of the device and research other markets. Smith Detections, a division of Smiths Group plc, has already licensed the technology for the specific application of virus detection which could make a major contribution to the battle against biological warfare.

The inventor, Bob Carr, worked at Porton Down (biological defence establishment) for 20 years and concentrated extensively on nanotechnology research. He is joined by John Knowles who has extensive commercial experience of start-ups and was, until recently, the Chairman of Davin Optronics Ltd.

NanoSight's new low-cost device allows individual sub-micron nanoparticles to be seen directly through a conventional optical microscope. It can detect individual particles down to 30 nanometres which is less than the wavelength of visible light. Up to now this has only been possible with very expensive electron microscopes which require a great deal of complex preparations.

The device uses a low-power laser and a metallic element to scatter light from the nanoparticles. They appear as spots of light whose brightness is characteristic of their reflectivity and size. By using specific antibodies or by adding fluorescent stains it is possible to detect and identify individual molecules or virus types.

As well as biotechnology, NanoSight can also be applied to medical/pharmaceutical research, environmental monitoring and scientific instrumentation.

Mark White, NESTA Invention and Innovation Director, said: "Nanotechnology has sparked a lot of controversy in the media lately. However, we are delighted to be investing in this early stage idea which applies the technology to areas that could have huge social benefits, such as defence against the ever-growing threat of bio-terrorism. We hope that our support will give the idea a sound platform on which to progress to the next crucial stage of its development."

NanoSight Ltd is a company formed to develop optical detection and analysis of deeply sub-micron particles and molecular structures in real-time.