Nano4Bio

Nanostructured Surfaces for Cell Culture & Tissue Growth

The company
Nano4bio srl is a high know-how & technology start-up company, founded in Bologna (Italy) in 2008 by researchers of the University of Pisa and the National Research Council (CNR) of Italy. The Nano4bio team is composed by a group of young and multinational researchers (from Italy, Slovakia and Romania), mostly female, with a qualified background knowledge spanning from nanotechnology and pharmaceutical chemistry to material science and cell biology.
The entrepreneurial idea comes up from several years of research in nano-bio-technology and from many European research projects.
Nano4bio srl is a partner of the high nano-technology incubator Bologna Nanotech.
The Nano4bio portfolio starts with two IT-patent applications: Nano4bio founders are the inventors and the users with the exclusive license (from the owner CNR).

The mission
The development, industrialization and commercialization of highly innovative nano-structured/nano-patterned substrates for in vitro cell cultures and tissue growth.

Industry sector

Nano-bio-technology.

Product

Nano4bio srl offers Smart4Bio products: innovative nano-structured/patterned substrates for in vitro cell cultures, ready-to-use and customized on demand.

Smart4Bio products can have a wide range of applications: they represent new tools for in vitro cell culture, stem cell differentiation, tissue engineering (regenerative medicine), advanced therapies, drug activity and safety screening, nano-toxicology tests.

Services

Nano4bio srl offers consultancy services:

- technological consultancy service for nanofabrication and nanopatterning of a wide range of materials and bio-molecules.

- scientific consultancy service and full assistance for the application to European Project calls, writing down projects in all their aspects.

The Market of interest
The Smart4bio products are mainly addressed to the market of Life Sciences and Biotechnology. The customers are in aprticular Pharmaceutical Companies, research institutes, Hospitals, Diagnositc and Biomedical analysis laboratories.

The advantages

The Smart4bio advantages are the control, versatility, scalability, patterning innovation and customization on demand.

The Smart4bio products have the added values to be cell-specific and suitable for comparative tests on different cell types, simultaneously (cell array). Nano4bio applied technology promote cell growth and differentiation and allow the control of cell proliferation and orientation in specific areas on the support. Smart4bio products offer new opportunities for nano-toxicology tests and drug activity screening, reducing time and cost of materials.

Most of the cell culture products available on the market are traditional in their conception. As a matter of fact, the application of Nano4bio technologies will set a breakthrough with respect to the state of the art. In fact, the availability of the nano-engineered supports will greatly support innovative biomedical pharmaceutical and toxicological research and results.

The Technology

Nano4bio technologies allow to control the geometry, length scale, design/motif, topography, roughness and chemistry of the substrates. Nano4bio masters the processes to chemically and/or physically modify, pattern and functionalize surfaces with thin films, controlling 3-D features at nanometer scale.
A wide range of different substrates (from plastic, glass, silicon, metal film/foils, to organic thin films) can be nanostructured. The nanopatterning of a wide range of polymers and biomolecules (proteins, lipids, DNA) can be performed by unconventional lithographic techniques. Nano4bio can provide, on demand, Smart4Bio products with custom tailored sizes, shapes, patterning features.

Up-to date:
In 2007-2008, Nano4Bio business project has been the winner of two Business Plan competitions: the Italian Start Cup, organized by the University of Bologna and Emilia Romagna Region, and the international Mind the bridge, organized by the American Embassy in Italy.

In 2008-2009, Nano4bio has been selected and is now incubated by We TechOff program, the new project of Emilia Romagna Region that supports the creation of innovative enterprises, through the supply of business, coaching and marketing services.

Nano4bio srl is today a partner of the high nano-technology Bologna Nanotech Incubator, in via P. Gobetti 52/3, 40129 Bologna, Italy.

Nano4bio is applying as small-medium enterprise to the VII European public research funding (HEALTH call 2009) and is a partner in two submitted European research proposals.

Nano4bio srl has established collaborative partnerships with different research institutes as the Centre for regenerative medicine “Stefano Ferrari” in Modena (leader in Europe in epithelial tissue reconstruction); the University of Pisa; S. Raffaele Hospital in Milan, and with the American company Solarno, with his expertise in carbon nanotubes and nanomaterials.

Nano4bio was present at the International Nanotechnology Exhibition & Conference Nanotech 2009, Tokyo, Japan. Nano4bio participated to Research2Business event in Bologna (2008 and 2009).

What we are looking for...
Concerning the business plan activity, Nano4bio is currently in R&D phase and is seeking for research partnerships, financial partners, investors, and seed capitals.

Team
Beatrice Chelli (CEO), Fabio Biscarini, Eva Bystrenova (CTO), Eleonora Da Pozzo, Adina N. Lazar, Antonietta Rizzo, Ilaria Tonazzini

Advisory Board:
Prof. Claudia Martini (University of Pisa), Dr. Cino Matacotta (Scriba Nanotechnology srl), Dr. Fabrizio Bugamelli (Almacube Bologna)

Where

Via G. Fanin 48
40127 BOLOGNA
ITALY

www.nano4bio.com
info@nano4bio.com

C.F. - P. IVA 02856121203