Evident Technologies Granted Nanoparticle License

TROY, N.Y., June 10 -- Semiconductor nanocrystal manufacturer Evident Technologies announced it has been granted a worldwide license for the use of certain intellectual property relating to water-soluble metal and semiconductor nanoparticle complexes. The work was developed by Albert Libchaber, head of the Laboratory of Condensed Matter Physics at Rockefeller University. The terms and conditions of the license were not disclosed.

Rockefeller University's quantum dots applied to a frog embryo, using water-soluble nanoparticle complexes

Quantum dots are nanoscale crystals that glow from deep blues through the infrared spectrum, due to their unique semiconductor and tunable quantum physics properties. These properties will enable a new range of biological measurement to be conducted, well beyond the currently available organic fluors traditionally used in the biotechnology field, Evident said. Quantum dots have the ability to fluoresce for days to even years, a capability beyond any organic dye or biological assay.

Evident, by licensing this technology, will make a variety of quantum dots available to biologists. To exploit the use of quantum dots, Rockefeller made a modification that allows quantum dots to be compatible with biological systems, permitting a wide variety of cell labeling and other possible applications.

Albert Libchaber, one of the scientists at the Center for Physics and Biology, said, "The uses of semiconductor nanocrystals have the potential to revolutionize biological imaging. By making quantum dots stable in water, we can make a very flexible biolabel that has numerous advantages in both in vivo and in vitro studies and applications. Extending the way quantum dots can be used opens a whole new range of capabilities for the researcher."

For more information, visit: www.evidenttech.com