A small local company, Columbus NanoWorks, that uses Nanotech West has recently been awarded a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). See below for text from Dr. Arfaan Rampersaud, CNW President:
Columbus NanoWorks is pleased to announce that the company has been awarded a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research contract from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to manufacture fluorescent nanodiamonds. The nanodiamonds will contain unique nitrogen vacancy centers, (called NV-centers), and are the source of stable, non-quenching and non-blinking fluorescence. Fluorescent NV-center nanodiamonds (fNDs) are many times brighter than commonly used fluorescent dyes, have a robust surface for a variety of chemistries and, unlike carbon nanotubes, are highly biocompatible. Thus, fluorescent nanodiamonds are ideally suited for in vivo biomedical applications and can replace most commercial optical probes; quantum dots (QDs) and organic fluorophores. There are other non-biomedical applications of fluorescent nanodiamonds in other advanced technology areas including sensors, composites, semiconducters, and quantum computing. The contract was awarded to Columbus NanoWorks by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute.
Congratulations to Columbus NanoWorks!
Bob Davis