BIOGENERATOR AND WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
ANNOUNCE FORMATION OF PIXELEXX
Imaging Nanoarrays To Open New Avenues For Cancer and Drug Research
ST. LOUIS (July 10, 2008) – Washington University and BioGenerator announce the formation of PixelEXX Systems, a St. Louis-based nanotechnology company. PixelEXX, founded by Washington University researchers Dr. Samuel Wickline, Stuart Solin, Kirk Wallace, and Mike Hughes will bring imaging nanoarrays to market. This innovative nanotechnology has the potential to open new avenues for cancer and drug research.
“Nanoarrays are a new way of imaging cells,” explained Dr. Wickline. “A researcher can look at a living cell with nano-sized sensors to get a more detailed picture of the cell, its internal structures, and how those parts function. These nanosensors will be capable of using light and sound to create extremely accurate images of the living cell’s inner structures, as well as measure the changes in electrical charges as those structures interact. The images and measurements will produce an improved 3-dimensional picture of how a cell reacts to stimuli, such as a drug – all in real-time. Pharmaceutical companies then will be able to study the effects of their drugs on the body’s smallest functional unit, the cell, to better determine a drug’s safety and efficacy.”
“The nanosensor technology harnesses our recent discovery of the EXX phenomena,” Professor Solin said. “That is, at the nanoscale certain materials may be engineered to be extraordinarily sensitive to physical properties, such as electroconductance. We are able to build an array of these nanosensors that will detect and measure multiple different physical properties, simultaneously and at the cellular level.”
One product the PixelEXX founders envision is an easy-to-use and inexpensive solid-state device that would look much like a USB flash drive, but with a specimen well built in to the top. Using the device and a PC, a researcher can generate accurate images of the physical features of the cell and simultaneously measure changes in the cell’s biochemistry, electrical charges, and electromagnetic fields. Thus, the technology combines the features and capabilities of much larger more expensive tools such as the confocal microscope, the electron microscope, and the scanning ultrasound microscope. Other products could be arrays of nanosensors for use in high throughput screening for drug candidates.
“This new technology should be a valuable resource for drug testing and cancer research,” said Dr. Samuel L. Stanley, Jr.,Washington University’s Vice Chancellor of Research. “For example, the nanoarray could help researchers study how drugs affect apoptosis – the natural process by which the body allows cells to die – at a level that is not currently possible. When there’s too little apoptosis, cells that should be eliminated continue to live. Eventually, this can lead to cancer.”
Washington University has licensed the nanoarray technology, which was discovered at the university, to PixelEXX. BioGenerator, a privately funded non-profit corporation that assists in the formation of plant and life science companies in the St. Louis region, provided seed capital. PixelEXX will be focusing on prototype development over the next 12 to 18 months.
“We are very excited to participate in the formation of PixelEXX, and believe its nanosensor technology is extremely important and will be highly successful,” said Ken Janoski, President and CEO of BioGenerator. “Washington University is clearly establishing itself as a leader in imaging and nanotechnology research, and PixelEXX is the fruit of some of their most creative and cutting-edge work.”
ABOUT BIOGENERATOR
BioGenerator is a non-profit corporation that facilitates the formation of plant and life science companies in the St. Louis region. It identifies promising university-based life science technologies, then provides the seed funding and other professional resources and support to turn the technology into early-stage companies. Major contributors to BioGenerator include the Danforth Foundation, the James S. McDonnell Foundation, Monsanto, Bunge North America and CORTEX.
ABOUT WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
Washington University is counted among the world’s leaders in teaching and research, drawing students and faculty to St. Louis from all 50 states and more than 125 nations. More than 13,500 undergraduate, graduate and professional students enroll each year. The university’s 3,098 faculty teach in seven schools: Arts & Sciences, Olin Business School, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, School of Engineering & Applied Science, School of Law, School of Medicine and George Warren Brown School of Social Work. Twenty-two Nobel laureates have been associated with Washington University, with nine doing the major portion of their pioneering research here.
The university offers more than 90 programs and almost 1,500 courses leading to the bachelor, master and doctoral degrees in a broad spectrum of traditional and interdisciplinary fields, with additional opportunities for minor concentrations and individualized programs.