Global Venture Challenge
 

Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University

TEAM: DiagNano

TEAM MEMBERS:
Brad Kairdolf
Kristina Crockett
Laura Huffman
Jarrett Silver

FACULTY ADVISOR: Carolyn Davis, Program Director, TI:GER, College of Management at Georgia Tech

PRODUCT OR SERVICE: A cancer diagnostic kit that will enable pathologists to simultaneously and objectively measure 5-15 biomarkers in a single test, and make faster and more accurate cancer diagnoses possible. DiagNano has developed novel thin-coating and surface technologies for quantum dot nanoparticles. Quantum dots are semiconductor nanoparticles that fluoresce when placed under a light source. The fluorescence color can be adjusted by changing the nanoparticle size or chemical
composition. The kit will include a solution containing multiple quantum dot colors, where each different color quantum dot will attach to a specific biomarker present in the biopsy sample. A pathologist can then use specialized hardware and computer imaging software to accurately measure the location and quantity of the biomarkers based on the intensity of the quantum dots.

Pathologists currently rely on generic staining and Immunohistochemistry (IHC) procedures to show structural characteristics or measure iteratively biomarkers, such as a protein or gene present in a tissue biopsy sample, one at a time. Accurate quantification of multiple biomarkers using DiagNano's technology will allow a pathologist to characterize a tumor more accurately and recommend the most appropriate therapy strategy for the patient.

While there are other companies using quantum dot technologies for cancer diagnosis, DiagNano's thin-coating and surface technologies differentiate their product from their competitors. Competing quantum dot coating technologies do not completely eliminate non-specific binding to cell and tissue sections, which can lead to inaccurate measurements. These competitors also use coating technologies that significantly increase the size of the particles, which can hamper tissue staining and reduce sensitivity. Simultaneously measuring multiple biomarkers in tumor biopsies is not possible with the existing technologies. DiagNano's cancer diagnostic kits will allow
pathologists to measure quantitatively and simultaneously important cancer biomarkers to rapidly develop a patient specific tumor profile and recommend the best therapy strategy for each individual patient.

The quantitative and multiplexing capabilities of DiagNano's kits have many applications in molecular diagnostics, particularly oncology and infectious disease. DiagNano will market its technology to pathologists, in particular because of its multiplexing capability, increased sensitivity and ability to preserve important structural characteristics in biopsy samples.

The DiagNano team received a $500 award as one of six finalists in the Nano I2P® Competition at Nano Nexus 2007, a nanotechnology conference hosted by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, on April 3, 2007. The conference brought together universities, entrepreneurs, and leaders of the nanotechnology industry in an effort to move nanotechnology out of research organizations and into the marketplace.

”We’re very excited by the encouragement we’ve received here,” said Kristina Crockett, an M.B.A. candidate at Georgia Tech. “This has been our first chance for validation, and the feedback from the industry people who are here is above and beyond our expectations. We get to hear what the industry has to say about our technology, and now we can move forward.”