Nanoco wins research funding for cancer research

HIGH-tech Manchester company Nanoco Group has been awarded more than £300,000 to support a research project which could help surgeons remove cancer cells more easily.

The company, a world leader in the development and manufacture of cadmium-free quantum dots and other microscopic nanomaterials,  is working with scientists at University College London into the use of cadmium-free quantum dots in the in-vivo imaging of cancer.

The £308,000 grant has been awarded by the Technology Strategy Board under its Biomedical Catalyst funding programme.

Nanoco and UCL began joint research work in 2011 in which the fluorescence of Nanoco quantum dots is being used to pinpoint malignant lymph nodes to guide surgeons in the removal of cancerous tissue.

Other materials have already been used in this way in clinical practice but Nanoco quantum dots offer the major advantage of fluorescing for a longer period of time, giving surgeons a greater opportunity to remove cancer cells.

Nanoco chief executive Michael Edelman said: “Our work to date shows that the sustained fluorescence achievable with Nanoco quantum dots has the potential to give surgeons a much greater window than currently available for the removal of cancer cells.
 
“We look forward to continuing this research with the ultimate objective of our technology becoming part of a commercially available bio-imaging product. This bio-imaging research highlights the versatility of our core cadmium-free quantum dot technology and its multiple potential commercial applications of which the display sector is our lead focus.”