Oct 30 2015
PEN Inc., a global leader in enhanced performance products enabled by nanotechnology to solve everyday problems, today announced the launch of a new graphene-based product for use in the production of nuclear pharmaceuticals used as diagnostic imaging biomarkers.
Patients are given these pharmaceuticals when undergoing Positron Emission Tomography (PET) which is a molecular imaging system that provides clinicians detailed information about diseases such as cancer, neurological disorders and cardiovascular disease.
The new product is a thin carbon foil made of layers of graphene for use in cyclotron accelerators that produce nuclear pharmaceuticals. Developed at the Company's Applied Nanotech Inc. subsidiary in Austin, Texas, the new graphene foils were part of a DOE Phase II SBIR effort to develop carbon foils for next generation ion beam accelerators. The graphene foils can serve as either stripper foils or extraction foils, both of which are integral to the operation of ion beam accelerators.
"Our new graphene foils are a perfect example of how Applied Nanotech is leveraging research supporting U.S. government priorities into new business opportunities," said Dr. Scott Rickert, CEO of PEN Inc. Dr. Richard Fink, President of Applied Nanotech noted: "Our team has over 15 years of experience and know-how in the field, including our US Patent No. 6,819,034 that describes the application of graphene in the form of carbon flakes."
The Company's graphene stripper foils can overcome critical limitations of alternative materials due to their exceptional physical properties such as mechanical strength, uniformity and high thermal conductivity. Tests performed on an accelerator at Michigan State University show that the lifetime of these foils are two to four times longer than those of currently available amorphous carbon foils. The graphene foils can be made as large as 13 cm (about 5 inches) in diameter and can be easily cut into smaller sections to meet the requirements of various types of equipment used to manufacture imaging biomarkers.
"After using Applied Nanotech's foils in our cyclotron for the last several months, we are impressed with their reliability. The material is easy to handle, cut and has no defects," said Dr. Henry Clark, Texas A&M University Cyclotron Institute.