In a windowless room of a University of Victoria engineering lab, a biomedical sensor the size of a postage stamp could hold the answer to a fast and inexpensive way to diagnose disease.
Bright gold and transparent, the sensor is peppered with holes on the scale of a few hundred nanometres B次元官网网址� 600 times thinner than a human hair B次元官网网址� and infused with micro-drops of blood provided by a hospital in Toronto.
Shine a laser on the sensor and with a properly calibrated imaging camera, researchers will eventually be able to quickly detect telltale signs of leukemia and other cancers, without biopsies or laboratory blood work.
B次元官网网址淭his is a proof-of-concept device. The nano-structure integrated into this biosensor looks for markers used to ID leukemia,B次元官网网址� says Alex Brolo, a UVic chemistry professor. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not done yet, but its getting there.B次元官网网址�
This biomedical sensor and its underlying microfluid and nanotechnology are still years away from clinical use, but federal funding announced last week is designed to kick it from the basement lab in the Elliott Building to a viable prototype for industry.
The Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI) has committed $7.7 million for the Prometheus Project, a collaboration between UVic, Simon Fraser University, the University of British Columbia and the British Columbia Institute of Technology. It is an effort that seeks to do nothing less than make Victoria and Metro Vancouver a world-class materials science hub.
Brolo, the lead scientist for UVicB次元官网网址檚 arm of Prometheus, said the CFI funding will build on decade of fundamental research into nanotechnology and materials science, which has been backed by a $110 million investment.
B次元官网网址淭he previous investments created a lot of proof-of-concepts, a lot of research ideas that are being tested and look promising,B次元官网网址� Brolo said. B次元官网网址淭his (funding) can take us to the next level. There is a lot of competition, worldwide competition. This is a hot area with a lot of ideas, but sometimes the best idea doesnB次元官网网址檛 win in the end.B次元官网网址�
UVic expects to receive about $1.8 million from the CFI and $4.5 million in total through matching provincial funds and contributions from private companies. That funding is earmarked for advanced fabricating equipment, lasers and microscopes for about 20 UVic researchers focused on solar cells, biomedical sensors and quantum computing.
For solar technology, researchers are looking to integrate nano-tubes on to a thin film to vastly improve how solar cells capture light, while also making it flexible and lighter. Nano structures integrated into biomedical sensors could not only quickly detect disease, people could use the sensors to establish a personalized baseline of health.
Brolo said engineered nano-particles could provide better medical imaging of tumours for instance, or such particles could deliver targeted medication.
B次元官网网址淥ne drop of blood it can monitor several proteins related to disease in the clinical environment,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淵ou donB次元官网网址檛 have to send it to a lab, you can do it for $10 in a clinic.B次元官网网址�
Typically, researchers manipulate metals such as silver and gold to create nano structures, which in turn have unusual properties at the billionth of a meter scale. Brolo canB次元官网网址檛 give timelines when this research might make the leap from the lab to a company, but he said this is a good time for academics and industry to collaborate.
B次元官网网址淯niversities arenB次元官网网址檛 in the business of making products, it is about training students and creating knowledge,B次元官网网址� Brolo said. B次元官网网址淏ut there is an understanding among academics that its not enough to create knowledge, that if you have a good idea, itB次元官网网址檚 important to translate that into industry.B次元官网网址�
When and if any of these Prometheus projects will emerge in the real world is hard to know, but its likely UVic Industry Partnerships will eventually investigate if the technologies can be patented, and then licenced or spun off into a company.
Over the past five years, UVic scientists have disclosed at least 60 inventions each year. In 2011-12, Industry Partnerships filed for 16 patents, licenced four technologies and had one spin-off company. UVic gets its cut, either 20 per cent of revenues or a negotiated revenue sharing contract with the researcher.
Jerome Etwaroo, an Industry Partnerships liaison officer, said there are no hard and fast rules on if a technology will survive to commercialization, but it needs to be novel and there needs to be a market.
B次元官网网址淎 lot of technology is being developed at UVic,B次元官网网址� Etwaroo said. B次元官网网址淯Vic is one of the most innovate universities in Canada.B次元官网网址�
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