Apr 2 2007
BioForce Nanosciences, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of BioForce Nanosciences Holdings, Inc., in January sold a Nano eNabler™ molecular printer to the University of Limerick in Limerick, Ireland. The University Professor, Dr. Khalil Arshak founded and heads the Microelectronics and Semiconductors Research Center that will be using the Nano eNabler technology. In February, at the U.S.-Ireland Sensors Workshop that took place in Dublin, Ireland, Professor Dr. Arshak’s group presented the Nano eNabler system to a broad research community to considerable interest.
The Nano eNabler™ system—BioForce’s flagship product—is a benchtop molecular printer that places tiny droplets of liquid onto surfaces with nanometer spatial precision. Funding for the purchase was received from the Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology to pursue a research project that studies the instant monitoring of glucose and pH in food. More recently, the Arshak Center received a Science Foundation of Ireland grant project that will utilize the Nano eNabler printer to devise a platform to detect and monitor food-borne pathogens. “The initial idea was to use the Nano eNabler printer for nanosensor arrays in manufacturing,” explains Dr. Arshak. “We will focus on one type of bacteria group commonly found in liquid, milk powder, and mixed food products. I envision applications that stem from the Nano eNabler technology including on-line monitoring of food processing plants or public health environmental sites.”
This sale was possible because of BioForce Nanosciences’ relationship with an international distributor network serving customers overseas. Dr. Keith Dawes represents Windsor Scientific, Ltd., the distributor that facilitated the Nano eNabler system sale, and was significant in tying Dr. Khalil Arshak’s work with the capabilities of the Nano eNabler printer. “With each sale, the buzz about the Nano eNabler printer grows,” describes Dawes. “After the Limerick’s group presentation in Dublin, I received two calls from institutions interested in purchasing a unit.” Windsor Scientific is based in the United Kingdom and provides research and development instrumentation to stimulate the advancement of scientific research.
“This Nano eNabler system sale was particularly satisfying because of the stellar work being performed in Dr. Arshak’s research center,” says Kerry Frey, chief operating officer of BioForce Nanosciences. “The MESRC is a well published group of researchers that consider the Nano eNabler system a novel technology capable of assisting in many research projects at the Center.