Sustainable and adaptable manufacturing of Gold Nanoparticles for use in Biomedical Diagnostics

在家庭新冠病毒检测中，使用金纳米粒子来制造红线，是纳米技术的伟大胜利之一。我们都知道金的颜色，但纳米金是红色的，可溶于水，人们可以将其与检测特定疾病的分子结合;因此，金纳米颗粒可以可视化感染因子的存在。格罗夫纳米材料有限公司已经开发、测试并验证了一种新技术（CoVap），该技术可直接从金属来源生产功能化金纳米颗粒，并以可持续的方式避免有毒化学品。将其纳入“侧向流测试”（LFT）中，不仅可以检测出新冠病毒或流感等感染，还可以检测出食品测试或怀孕等情况下的麸质或乳糖等潜在过敏原。该项目将扩大格罗夫的制造能力，以生产具有不同化学共轭的金纳米颗粒，其可快速调整以满足客户对诊断设备的需求，从而解决未来的医疗或健康威胁。通过与器件开发商和OEM密切合作，我们采用了一种新颖的“真空合成”工艺，这意味着格罗夫能够以低成本向客户和/或最终用户快速批量供应。此外，该产品将以各种形式提供，无论是作为相关有机/聚合物基质中的纳米颗粒的稳定纳米复合材料的“干燥”，还是分散到稳定的胶体溶液中，并且具有各种尺寸和颜色，以满足特定的诊断要求（例如，Covid、Flu、Gluten或Pregnancy）随着概念验证的建立，诊断设备市场成为目标（特别是横向流动测试，LFT）作为金纳米颗粒的主要用户，该项目将通过进一步的必要研发来扩大格罗夫的制造能力和产品范围，同时确保符合客户需求。该项目的主要活动包括：* 研发：通过完善工艺控制、扩展已验证的功能化范围和材料表征，将我们的技术提升至TRL 8/9 * 在LFT应用中验证我们的纳米颗粒，通过与三个行业合作伙伴的测试。“雅培实验室”--新冠病毒侧流检测;“阿宾登健康”--流感和妊娠检测;“生物检测”-食物过敏原检测 * 开发规划，* 探索格罗夫最近发现的“海军蓝”和“荧光”金纳米粒子，用于双重诊断设备（即使用单个LFT检测2种不同的疾病）为了将这项技术应用于迅速扩大的纳米颗粒材料市场，格罗夫获得了约25万英镑的外部杠杆资金

The use of gold nanoparticles to create the red lines in a home Covid test is one of the great triumphs of nanotechnology. We all know the colour of gold, but nano-gold is red, soluble in water and one can bind it to molecules which detect a particular disease; thus the gold nanoparticles visualise the presence of an infectious agent. Grove Nanomaterials Ltd has developed, tested, and validated to proof-of-concept stage, a novel technology (CoVap) for producing functionalised gold nanoparticles directly from metal sources, and in a sustainable way that avoids toxic chemicals. Their incorporation into 'Lateral Flow Tests' (LFTs) will enable the detection not only of infections like Covid or Flu but also potential allergens such as gluten or lactose in food testing or conditions such as pregnancy.This project will scale-up Grove's manufacturing capability to produce gold nanoparticles with diverse chemical conjugations, that are rapidly tuneable to meet customer needs for diagnostic devices to address future medical or health threats. Working closely with device developers and OEMs, our agile and responsive manufacturing approach uses a novel 'in-vacuo synthesis' process, meaning that Grove can rapidly supply batch quantities at low cost to customers and/or end-users. Moreover, the product will be available in various formats, either "dry" as a stable nanocomposite of nanoparticles within a relevant organic/polymeric matrix, or dispersed into a stable, colloidal solution), and in a variety of sizes and colours to meet specific diagnostic requirements (e.g. Covid, Flu, Gluten or Pregnancy)With proof-of-concept already established, and the diagnostic devices market targeted (particular Lateral Flow Tests, LFTs) as major user of gold nanoparticles, this project will scale-up Grove's manufacturing capability and product range through further and essential R&D, whilst ensuring compliance with customer needs.Key activities in this project include:* R&D: Advancing our technology to TRL8/9 through refinement of process control, extending the range of proven functionalisation's, and material characterisation* Validation of our nanoparticles within LFT applications, through testing with three industry partners. 'Abbott Laboratories -- Lateral Flow Tests for Covid; 'Abingdon Health' -- Flu and Pregnancy Tests; 'Bio-Check' -- Food allergen tests* Exploitation planning, cost/performance modelling and further IP protection* Explore Grove's recent discoveries of 'navy blue' and 'fluorescent' gold nanoparticles for their use in dual-diagnostic devices (i.e. to detect 2 different diseases using a single LFT)To deliver this technology into the rapidly expanding nanoparticulate materials market, Grove has secured ~ £250k of external leveraged funding