Page 10 - Periodic Issue 04

S pinning out Success

The Department of Chemistry has an excellent track record in commercialising the state-
of-the-art work undertaken by our research staff. Oxford chemists have set up numerous
commercial licences and spin-out companies to take promising technologies to market.
Below are some highlights of the most recent success stories from Oxford Chemistry.
More information can be found on our new industry-facing website, industry.chem.ox.ac.uk

Oxford Mass Technologies (OMass) The core technology is based on a marriage of electrochemical
is one of Oxford Chemistry’s latest impedance, fluidics and interfacial chemistry and generates a
spin-out companies and is a result of validated ability to quantify panels of biomarkers in patient
research conducted within Prof Dame samples in an ultrasensitive manner. It presents a potentially
Carol Robinson’s group. OMass is an transformative ability to detect disease many years before it
enabling technology platform providing becomes symptomatic. www.oxfordimpedance.com
biotechnology and pharmaceutical
companies with mass spectrometry solutions for studying HydRegen, launched in Jan 2016, is
membrane proteins, which constitute over 50% of all drug funded by EPSRC/Innovate UK. Led
targets. by Prof Kylie Vincent, the main aim
of HydRegen is to develop improved
Robinson explains her motivation for founding OMass: methods for utilising cofactor-
“Membrane proteins are extremely challenging targets to study dependent enzymes. HydRegen provides a flexible platform of
and characterise. We have focussed on developing enabling mass H2-driven immobilised enzymes to facilitate implementation
spectrometry methods to evaluate them. Early collaborations of cofactor-dependent biocatalysis. This technology has a wide
between my research group and pharmaceutical companies have range of applications in the fine chemicals sector for synthesis
demonstrated just how powerful this technology can be and has of pharmaceutical, flavour and fragrance molecules and more
prompted the formation of OMass.” broadly in introduction of chiral centres and controlled
oxidations. vincent.chem.ox.ac.uk/hydregen.htm
The team are committed to providing technology and know-
how in assisting companies tackle challenging drug targets and OxSyBio was set up in 2014 to
biologics. The new company has now received support from develop 3D printing techniques
Oxford Science Innovation to establish a laboratory to be based which can be used to produce
at the Begbroke Science Park. www.omass.co.uk synthetic materials for medical
research and clinical applications.
Oxford Impedance Diagnostics The technology, based on cutting-edge research conducted
was launched in April 2016 based by Prof Hagan Bayley’s group, is a method of printing tissue-
on research from Prof Jason Davis like materials comprised of 3-D networks of lipid monolayer
and Prof Paulo Bueno, based at the aqueous droplets. These materials were shown to be capable of
University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. conducting electrical signals along pre-defined pathways, and

Davis’s research team have been engaged with collaborating self-folding to form complex geometries. OxSyBio is focussed
clinical teams in establishing electroanalytical platforms capable on using similar techniques to print tissues and tissue-like
of the sensitive detection of antibodies in Parkinson’s disease materials for a range of applications in regenerative medicine
patient cerebrospinal fluid and plasma and in diabetes patient and synthetic biology. www.oxsybio.com
serum analysis Oxford Advanced Conductors

Most recently, this work has been extended to the multiplexed (OxACs), set up in 2014,
analysis of real clinical samples within electrode arrays. His is based on research by Prof
group, with that of Bueno, have also developed unique Peter Edwards’ team which has
molecular detection methodologies based on hydrogel developed a novel silicon-doped zinc oxide material (SiZOTM)
interfaces, signal processing, and both redox and quantum to replace the indium oxide generally used in touch panel
capacitance. displays. This state-of-the-art technology delivers novel, low-
cost and high-performance optoelectronic thin film coatings
The company has secured significant investment to develop a for various display applications through both a zinc oxide-
commercially viable, highly sensitive protein biomarker assay based coating and an easier, more eco-friendly and sustainable
system for use in clinical laboratories or at the point-of-care. manufacturing process. www.oxacs.com

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Periodic The Magazine of the Department of Chemistry