NanoSight

NanoSight Biodiagnostics

NanoSight technology opens biodiagnostic development routes through which to expand revenue streams into a portfolio of detection and speciation capabilities leading to clinical assays.   These biodiagnostic opportunities concern exosomes, microvesicles and functionalized nanoparticles. 

We actively seek partners with global access to end-users markets, and researchers who can fully exploit the sensitivity of the NanoSight platform to meet their specific detection requirements.

Microvesicles and exosomes are sub-classes of biological microparticles.  Much recent interest surrounds their study as they become identified as present in virtually all mammalian bodily fluids and as being derived from most cell lines.  Their presence at raised levels and their role in cell signaling has been linked to a growing range of diseases.  Exosomes carry diverse membrane and cytosolic proteins as well as messenger and microRNAs.    NanoSight’s unique capability to detect exosomes was first demonstrated in 2009 by researchers from the Nuffield Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Oxford and the Oxford Haemophilia & Thrombosis Centre at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford.  Diseases cited include Pre-eclampsia, Diabetes, Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD), Parkinson’s Disease, Sarcoidosis, Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, Atopic Eczema, Autoimmune Diseases and a range of cancers.  Cancers cited as associated with exosomes or microvesicles include Prostate cancer, Oral cancer, Liver Cancer, Ovarian Carcinoma and Gastric Cancer.   This list grows as researchers look more closely at these submicron structures, which were thought until only recently to be cell debris.  NanoSight enables this research, providing unique detection and quantitative characterization of population of these particles, with data validated with real time visualization.  Specific biomarker proteins on the particulate surfaces enable NanoSight to identify their function. 

Beyond exosomes, there is a natural match between the complexity inherent in biological systems and NanoSight’s characterization technology.   NanoSight is especially suitable for monitoring subtle changes within populations of submicron particles with high sensitivity and specificity.  Functionalized nanoparticles are routinely cited as potentially providing biodiagnostic assays with unrivalled specificity and repeatability. Nanoparticles have key roles in target discovery and validation, drug delivery and in Pharmacogenomics.  Nanoparticles have long been exploited  in lateral flow immunoassay, immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry.  As with exosome detection, this development opportunity draws on NanoSight's unique ability to detect nanoparticles and our strength in understanding environment-specific behavior of multi-modality and composite nanoparticles and functional conjugate characterization. 

These opportunities share a common route of exploitation.  NanoSight provides the universal platform, whilst the research partners have proprietary assay chemistry; together the two provide a unique assay capability.  In all cases we seek a third partner with global reach and experience in developing, marketing and distributing biodiagnostics.  Whilst the visibility of key players has enabled us to build these relationships, we actively seek to widen our discussions with potential exploitation partners, to translate research-based biomarker detection into widely-applicable clinical diagnostics. 

For an update on NanoSight’s latest progress in biodiagnostics, please contact us directly.

For detail on NanoSight applications in exosomes, click here.