Gold Innovations Blog

It was a very busy day yesterday at Nanotech 2009 – with lots of interested visitors to the World Gold Council stand at the event. 

We also announced advancements in the development of a test for the rapid detection of cancer biomarkers using gold nanotechnology, which was immediately picked-up by Bio Optics World Magazine.

The test is based on an innovative technology called nanoDLSAY and is the first test to use dynamic light scattering and gold nanoparticle probes to detect cancer biomarkers.  Gold nanoparticles have strong light scattering properties, much more so than biomolecules and polymer particles, and therefore can be detected by dynamic light scattering, with high sensitivity.  This means that the test can detect cancer biomarker at very low levels, valuable both for early cancer detection and also for monitoring cancer recurrence after surgery.   

The nanoDLSAY technology was developed by Professor Huo at University of Central Florida’s NanoScience Technology Center from where she has now started a company called Nano Discovery, LLC.  Professor Huo’s research at Nano Discovery has received support from our Gold Research Opportunities Worldwide (GROW) Programme which co-funds potential new scientific and industrial uses of gold. Prof Huo will be talking about the commercialisation plans for the technology during today’s Nanotech conference.

This innovative test is very simple and involves a single step procedure which requires only a very small sample.  It is very cost effective and can be carried out very quickly in central clinical testing labs or in point-of-care facilities such as hospitals, clinics, and doctors’ offices.

The potential uses of this technology are extensive.  Although the technique has been developed initially for screening prostate and other cancers, it can also be applied to other human diseases and conditions, such as infectious and sexually transmitted diseases, neurodegenerative diseases and cardiovascular diseases.  It can also be used for illegal performance drug monitoring and biodefense.