Business briefs

13 July 2007

From Nanotech Web.org

Surrey NanoSystems has won what it describes as a "major order" for its carbon-nanotube-growth tool from the Italian Advanced Technologies Institute known as ITA. Located in Trapani, Sicily, ITA is a consortium of university, industrial and research institute partners. The group plans to use the equipment to develop nanocomposites and mechanical sensors.

ATDF, US, and UMC, Taiwan, have agreed to combine their foundry expertise and focus on so-called "speciality technologies" such as nanotechnology and memory designs coming out of small firms, university labs and other organizations. "Our partnership with UMC gives technology innovators an important new resource for implementing their best ideas," said Dave Anderson, general manager of ATDF. "Novel technologies now have a clearer path to a foundry, which is especially important for smaller participants in the industry."

Licensing

Nanogen, a US developer of nanotechnology-enabled diagnostic tools, has acquired the rights to genetic markers related to schizophrenia. The agreement is between Nanogen, the Co-operative research centre for diagnostics and Queensland University of Technology, Australia. Nanogen says that it plans to use the markers to create diagnostic tests for schizophrenia and related conditions, which may also help to predict adverse drug reactions.