DRUG DISCOVERY:
NEW TOOLS FOR CANCER RESEARCH
The NanoInk Imaging System (NIS) is a bundled disease and drug screening platform consisting of novel light-emitting, targeted nanoprobes paired with a live animal imaging system. The nanoprobes have a rare earth nanoparticle core encapsulated in an albumin shell, which can then be functionalized with cell-targeting ligands. Through the use of three different rare earth elements, each emitting a distinct wavelength of light, NIS enables optical molecular imaging of multiple disease biomarkers with high fidelity.
In addition to tumor cells, NIS can also detect immune cells in the tumor microenvironment and the pre-metastatic niche, enabling a wide range of immuno-oncology studies.
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NIS allows researchers to continually monitor tumor growth with high accuracy without sacrificing animals, enabling stronger therapy-response correlations by following the same animals through the course of the study.
These capabilities provide improved reliability and replicability in preclinical research, reducing the costly failures that are so pervasive in drug development.
CLINICAL APPLICATION:
NEW TOOLS FOR CANCER SURGERY
The NanoInk Imaging System (NIS) offers a robust solution to improving the accuracy of breast conserving surgeries, with (i) improved cancer-free margins in patients, and (ii) reduced re-operation rates, thus improving patients' quality of life, and reducing healthcare costs.
Our technology specifically targets the tumor cells by binding to cell surface markers, clearly showing the delineation between tumor and normal tissues.