Apr 20 2010
NanoImaging Services, Inc., announced today that it has received a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institutes of Health through the National Center for Research Resources to develop new methods for quantitative characterization of nanoparticle morphology and aggregation state using transmission electron microscopy.
The grant provides approximately $200,000 in research and development funds for a Phase I study.
Founded in 2007, NanoImaging Services was pioneered by a team of highly experienced scientific experts, and has become the leader in providing superior nanoparticle imaging services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and nanotechnology communities, specializing in using transmission electron microscopy for direct visualization of nanoscale samples in solution. The company is recognized for its legacy of innovation and achievement in developing new technologies and automated methods for transmission electron microscopy and analysis.
“We deliver accuracy in images and reports in a timely manner to make your job easier and give your company the edge in developing products,” explains Clint Potter, President/CEO. “NanoImaging Services is the only service provider exclusively focused on providing transmission electron microscopy services to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.”
Characterization of nanoparticles and biologics is a critical step in the development of important new pharmaceutical therapeutics as, in many cases, preclinical characterization is the rate-limiting phase of the commercialization process. There is considerable evidence that the physical properties of biologics and nanoparticles is tightly linked to their functional behavior and may thus be a determining factor in the biodistribution, safety, and efficacy of the pharmaceutical product.
Chief Scientific Officer Bridget Carragher explains, “Analytical characterization of biologicals is increasingly critical to the biopharmaceutical industry, and we are able to offer this new and unique method as a tightly controlled service on a straightforward, commercial basis. Nanoparticle therapeutics pose unique challenges for characterization and require a multidisciplinary approach, in which several orthogonal methods are required to provide a complete picture.”
The range of samples that have been characterized at NanoImaging Services include a wide variety of drug delivery vehicles (liposomes, dendrimers, polymeric nanoparticles) and biologics (enveloped and non-enveloped viruses, virus-like particles, macromolecular complexes, antibodies). Through the utilization of sophisticated technology and methodology, including cryo-electron microscopy which provides exact “visual” information related to size, shape, morphology, and aggregation of a sample in its natural hydrated state, along with the ability to reveal three-dimensional structures, NanoImaging Services provides critical answers to questions related to interactions of nanoparticles with their environment.