Diagnostics

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Biological and Environmental Sensors can tell us:

  • If we have an infectious disease
  • If a cancer therapy is likely to work for us
  • Whether the food we are to eat is contaminated
  • What the level of glucose is in our blood
  • If the water we drink is toxic
  • What our dog or cat is sick from
  • If a promising new drug in development works
  • If a little baby in a mother’s womb is healthy
  • And so much more…

Annual sensor sales are in the multi-dozen billion dollars. Shrink’s unique ultra-functional and integratable MetalFluor™ nano-structures have the potential to disrupt current technologies in a number of large market categories. Shrink is working with large global leaders in the diagnostic sensor business to commercialize MetalFluor™.

Shrink Nanotechnologies’ MetalFluor™ diagnostic platform is designed to inexpensively increase the sensitivity (and specificity in certain applications) of fluorescence-based diagnostic tests with our patent-pending ability to design, manufacture and tune metallic nano-structures on our NanoShrink™ material. We seek to integrate our MetalFluor™ technology with existing leading diagnostic sensor platforms, replacing quartz, silicon, and other glass substrates used in products that measure fluorescent signals. MetalFluor™ may even make it possible to measure DNA assays without needing PCR (polymerase chain reaction) amplification. Shrink’s solutions, which present advantages in terms of reduced reagent material costs, also enable the use of simplified low cost reader instruments and integrate add-on microfluidics systems. Shrink’s MEF technology has the potential to greatly increase the sensitivity of luminescent (fluorescence, chemiluminescence, bioluminescence) based assays enough to allow low cost light detectors to be used, enabling more portable instrumentation for point-of-care (POC) testing. POC applications include environmental and medical (human and animal) diagnostics. The following are a select group of R.A.P.I.D. value-addition features unique to MetalFluor™ Technology:

  • Remote Sensing – ability to detect and report without putting humans in harm’s way
  • Accuracy – highly quantifiable measurements in order to gauge risk to humans
  • Precision – ability to differentiate between harmful and harmless substances
  • Inexpensive – enabling wider coverage relative to more expensive sensors
  • Deployability – new types of threats and varying locations can make complex and burdensome systems more difficult to set-up

The diagnostic market is split into two categories: (1) the point-of-care (POC) or over-the-counter (OTC) market and (2) diagnostic testing by professionals in hospitals, physician offices, clinics and other patient care locations. The POC market represents fast, easy to read, and inexpensive assays that are more geared toward the general public and retail. The Clinical Lab assays are often involving large complex devices with high-throughput capabilities, with special attention toward accuracy and precision.


  • The market in POC sales is expected to increase to $6.8B by 2012 estimates, with a projected 9% global CAGR
  • Medicine is becoming more personalized; more individualized diagnostics are be required
  • There is a trend toward non-invasive simple assays that do not require large or expensive
    processing equipment
  • As diagnostics start to focus on global issues, companies are forced to simplify their assays to account for
    regional and economical considerations
  • The FDA is pushing for lower complexity tests that are easily performed and interpreted, allowing for lower
    health care costs
  • The combination of lab-on-a-chip with clinical diagnostics is the future of the industry, with companies
    realizing the power of microfluidics and nanotechnology as a diagnostic tool

A majority of the sensor market is relegated to automotive, industry and medical. Shrink intends to target the medical and environmental sectors. The environmental sensor market is very nascent. However, the environmental sensor trend seems to be increasing in wake of 9/11 and due to certain geopolitical factors. Environmental remediation and detection are other key areas of growth for environmental sensors.

The global market for advanced materials and sensors increased from $5.7 billion in 2006 to an estimated $6.8 billion by the end of 2007. It should reach $9.4 billion by 2012 by some estimates. The table below illustrates the current commercial segments and key market players.

A key point within the diagnostic market is the prototype-to-product manufacturing transition. Shrink’s solutions offer a cost effective, rapid design and fabrication paradigm that is scalable to market demands. Shrink ameliorates many of these manufacturing problems because of the flexibility and adaptability of the technology to a wide variety of manufacturing formats.

The following table shows important trends for the global sensors market:

Shrink’s MEF Technology (represented below) can be developed as either a disruptive or non-disruptive
technology depending on its application. Shrink intends to monetize MetalFluor™ technology through licensing
and partnership arrangements with its strategic relationships.

NanoShrink™, the “skeleton” of our MetalFluor™ technology, is an ideal substrate from which to model next generation sensor technology. Because the chemical properties of NanoShrink™ is a viable analytical substrate for R&D use, it is a natural flow that environmental sensor companies will utilize the design and fabrication advantages of Shrink for incorporation into their next generation sensor devices. With the enhanced capabilities of Shrink to boost target signal utilizing proprietary Metal Enhanced Fluorescence (MEF) techniques, sensors will become significantly more sensitive and cost effective. The MetalFluor™ sensing plat form is significantly less expensive, faster and more robust than other means of manufacturing similar metal nano-structures (including silver island film techniques, nano-sphere and e-beam lithography) . Shrink’s MetalFluor™ platform is constantly evolving and Shrink is developing off-the-shelf formats that can be immediately integrated into companion technologies to create nearly turnkey super-sensitive products.

The MetalFluor™ platform has been designed to set the stage for next-generation sensor technology by deploying a cost-effective integrated platform from which to integrate with companion market leading roll-to-roll tape based assay manufacturing platforms. Shrink has two main target segments for its sensor technology platform – medical (human and animal) diagnostics and environmental and food sensing. Each sector relies on the accurate and specific identification of targets based on state-of-the-art detection technologies. Shrink’s offering into these markets focuses on improving the sensitivity and integration of novel tunable nano-structure technologies into legacy market leading detection applications.

Shrink currently has several R&D prototype applications with the goal being offering near off-the-shelf capabilities to partner companies. Shrink’s current prototype MetalFluor™applications offer (i) increased sensitivity; (ii) integrated microfluidics; (iii) enhanced signaling capabilities; and (iv) advanced thin cell designs. With the integration of Shrink’s MEF, 3-D vortex micromixers, and advanced microfluidics, diagnostics can move toward an all-inclusive multi-indication lab-on-a-chip assay.

Shrink’s objective for the Environmental Sensor market is to utilize key milestone achieved in other product areas to validate NanoShrink™ and MetalFluor™. Once Shrink achieves industry validation and demonstrates technology superiority, it will be easier to leverage the Company’s solutions to other areas utilizing microfabrication techniques.

Shrink will be able to leverage its manufacturing solutions to a wide segment of companies in the diagnostic manufacturing industry. By offering Shrink’s design and manufacturing solutions early in the product development life cycle, Shrink and it’s partners will be able to take advantage of Shrink’s MetalFluor™ platform expertise to increase product usefulness, regulatory approval expediency, shorter time-to-market, and increased profit margins.

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