Nanotech Center Receives $12.5 M from NSF to Continue Innovation in Bio-Nanotechnolgy

The OSU Nanotech Center has been awarded $12.5 million from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to continue its work in developing affordable nanoengineering of polymeric biomedical devices.  The center was established in 2004 and since then it has advanced technology in this specialized field.  

Among the center’s developments:  polymer scaffolds to support the growth of blood vessels for shaping DNA into structures that could one day form sensors for biological agents and a CD carved with channels that transport fluids for medical testing.

“I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished so far,” said L. James Lee, center director and professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at OSU. “This new funding brings us even closer to our ultimate goal of designing and building a nanofactory -- an assembly line for affordable, environmentally friendly manufacture of nano-based medical technology.”

The center is credited with developing technologies that have formed the basis for a number of university spinoffs including:  

• BioLOC LLC which produced the first CD to automate a common clinical, food safety, and environmental test called ELISA -- the most common test for HIV
• Ikotech, developers of magnetic cell-sorting technology.
• Ohio Nanomed, Inc. which develops drug delivery technology
• Traycer Diagnostic Systems, Inc., developers of cancer detection technology
• Nanofiber Solutions LLC, developers of nanofiber mats for biomedical screening

For more, see the release from OSU.