Nanodetectors as a glowing opportunity
The bionanotechnology company Lumiphore focuses on complex biochemical response mechanisms in order to use them for pioneering biomedical applications.
The company works with luminous chemical compounds, so-called lanthanide fluorescence complexes or nanodetectors. With the patented Lumi4® complexes, Lumiphore is marketing a new class of fluorescent detection reagents with metal lanthanoids allowing the prognosis, diagnosis and follow-up of specific diseases as well as the detection of toxicants and the monitoring of drugs. Other uses are the detection of environmental toxins and allergens in foodstuffs or a drug-clip test where several types of doping and narcotics can be identified simultaneously. There is also a highly promising contribution to be made in cancer therapy, where cancer cells can be precisely triggered in order to irradiate them systematically.
Lumiphore Inc., based in Redwood City in the heart of California’s Silicon Valley, is a spin-off from the University of California, Berkeley.
The company’s unique Lumi4® complexes are a new class of fluorescent-metal lanthanide detection reagents based on technology patented by Professor Kenneth N. Raymond and coworkers at the University of California, Berkeley. The technology already finds active use in the diagnosis and monitoring of certain diseases. It can also be used to test for toxic substances in the body and to monitor medication levels. Other areas of application are the detection of environmental pollutants, of allergens in food, and of illegal drugs in competitive sports.