The specialist product development consultancy, Bio
Nano Consulting (BNC) is pleased to announce that it has recently signed
its largest contract to date with a major chemical company. BNC has secured
this contract as a result of unique intellectual property developed at its partner
institutions of Imperial College and the London Centre for Nanotechnology. The
12 month project aims to provide a consistent system for the separation of single
walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) based on their electrical properties for improved
micro-electronic performance. The work by BNC will develop the processes to
a sufficient maturity to allow the client to license and further commercialise
the technology.
The separation of SWNTs with well-defined chirality is the ‘holy grail'
of nanotube science and the development of better manufacturing and process
techniques is vital to the future of carbon nanotechnology. Possible applications
for Metallic SWNTs are indium tin oxide (ITO) replacement, electromagnetic interference
(EMI) shielding, electrodes, field emission devices and transmission cables.
In contrast, semiconducting nanotubes could be used in applications such as
nanoelectronics, sensors, non-linear optical (NLO) devices, active components
in photovoltaics, organic electronics, printed electronics and thin film transistors.
Delivering innovative solutions to industry across the life-science and technology
sectors, BNC are able to effectively address real-world problems with nanotechnology
based solutions. "With our traditional focus being the pharmaceutical,
medical and bio-tech industries, we are delighted to have signed our second
contract looking at advancing electronic technologies." commented Dr David
Sarphie, CEO of BNC. He continued, "It is great news that our world-class
technology and expertise has successfully extended across into this critical
sector."
The BNC is a specialist research and development consultancy operating in the
convergent field of bionanotechnology. A joint venture of Imperial College London
and University College London, the BNC is funded through the Technology Strategy
Board (TSB) with additional support from the London Development Agency (LDA).
Along with its partner organisation, the National Physical Laboratory, the
BNC offers a service to the biomedical and healthcare industries in microsystems
and nanotechnology. This encompasses design, 3-D modelling and visualisation,
rapid prototyping, and characterisation.