Nano Discovery to Showcase Newly Developed Early Cancer Test at TechConnect World Innovation Conference

Orlando, Fla. --- UCF researchers who discovered how to use gold nanoparticles to create an accurate, inexpensive early cancer test have been invited to showcase their invention at the TechConnect World Innovation Conference June 14-17 in Washington, D.C. Dr. Qun Huo, associate professor in the NanoScience Technology Center at the University of Central Florida and CEO of Nano Discovery, Inc., announced recently that her team of researchers had developed a gold nanoparticle-enabled test that can detect the body’s autoimmune activities in fighting off cancer. Dr. Huo’s test, which uses a single drop of blood and about $1 worth of gold nanoparticles and other biochemicals, is significantly more accurate than the Protein-Specific Antigen (PSA) test currently used by doctors today for prostate cancer detection. Dr. Huo’s UCF team discovered that tumor-fighting autoantibodies quickly attach to the surface of gold nanoparticles, where they can be detected quickly and unerringly with specialized equipment. While the UCF team’s new test doesn’t identify which type of cancer induces those autoantibodies, Dr. Huo believes the test could become a universal screening test to tell doctors that cancer is present and point to further tests to find and locate any tumors. TechConnect World is a global showcase of the latest innovations from industrial, government and academic laboratories. Participants include innovators, funding agencies, national and federal labs, international research organizations, universities, tech transfer offices and investment and corporate partners. TechConnect World combines the 2015 SBIR/STTR National Conference, the 2015 National Innovation Summit and Showcase, and Nanotech2015---the world’s largest nanotechnology event---into one conference, Dr. Huo explained. Only 15 percent of submissions to TechConnect are selected for presentations, Dr. Huo said. The conference is organized to help emerging technologies find the funding and technical support to commercialize quickly and effectively. “This is a great honor that may lead to further research and widespread adoption of our new process,” Dr. Huo explained. Nano Discovery, Inc. is a client company of the UCF Business Incubation Program located at Central Florida Research Park in East Orange County.