Nanotech business set to get bigger
TWO scientists who have found a way to manufacture tiny or nanoscale electrodes on a commercial basis have secured venture capital funding from the NOrth West Fund.
Dr Neville Freeman and Dr Amy Farrington – both of whom are experts in electrochemistry – have received cash to grow their Daresbury-based business, Nanoflex.
It was set up in 2008 and has since been working with experts from Edinburgh University to develop applications for the electrodes. These could be used in a range of fields from medical diagnostics and environmental testing to energy storage.
The electrodes are already being used in the chemistry research market but the new funding will allow the pair to explore a range of different uses. It has been provided from the venture capital pot of the £185m North West Fund, managed by EV.
Dr Freeman is the founder of the Farfield Group, an instrumentation company. He left the business in 2008 following its sale to a Swedish company.
Dr Farrington has a background in technology commercialisation in both the private and academic arenas. She has brought technologies to market in sectors such as nuclear, software and bio-materials.
Dr Freeman said: “Nano-electrodes have been manufactured within laboratories for some time and people are excited about the benefits they can offer. However until now no one has found a way to reproduce them on a commercial scale.
“Electrodes are the basis for many of the technologies we use in everyday life. For example, in the medical field, they are used in sensors for diabetic tests and other diagnostics which millions of patients use to monitor their own conditions.
“Nano-electrodes offer greater sensitivity and could therefore result in better tests and the creation of new ones that have not been possible so far.”
EV investment manager Doug Stellman said: “Neville and Amy have strong track records in developing and commercialising new technologies.
“We were attracted to invest in the business as the novel sensor architecture provides a platform for exciting new developments in a wide range of sectors.”
