SurroMed and Penn State publish pioneering work in the journal Science describing Nanobarcodes™ particles

Background - Black and white image of densely packed, striped metallic particles. The particles are resting on a glass surface and the image was collected using a high magnification, optical microscope with the 100x objective underneath the glass surface. The bright stripes are silver portions of the particles and the less bright stripes are gold. Foreground - Artists rendition of striped metallic particles. The large particle shows typical particle dimensions, the smaller particles illustrate the five different striping patterns that can be seen in the black and white image. Full size image available through contact

Mountain View, California / October 4, 2001/– Researchers from SurroMed, Inc. and Penn State University report in the October 5th issue of the journal Science on the fabrication, optical properties and initial application of Nanobarcodes™ particles. Nanobarcodes particles enable large numbers of biological assays, or measurements, to be simultaneously carried out in a small volume of fluid and have the potential to advance biochemical analysis, with further implications in understanding the molecular basis of disease.

The paper, entitled "Submicrometer Metallic Barcodes," describes collaborative research undertaken by scientists at SurroMed and in the Chemistry Department at Penn State. Michael J. Natan, Ph.D., Chief Technology Officer of SurroMed and an inventor of Nanobarcodes particles, developed the technology in collaboration with Assistant Chemistry Professor Christine Keating, Ph.D., and her research group at Penn State.

Nanobarcodes particles are cylindrically-shaped, "striped" metal nanoparticles in which the stripes comprise different metals such as gold, silver, platinum and nickel. Analogous to conventional barcoding, this technology enables creation of extremely large numbers of unique and identifiable particles by varying the width and composition of the stripes. Individual particles can be identified by reading the stripe patterns using an optical microscope. Nanobarcodes particles can be used to simultaneously carry out large numbers of biological assays in a small volume. This parallel approach to biological analysis is known as "multiplexing."

Black and white image of densely-packed, striped metallic particles. The particles are resting on a glass surface and the image was collected using a high magnification, optical microscope with the 100x objective underneath the glass surface. In this image the particles lie next to each other much like logs floating down a river. The particles in this image are typically six microns long and three hundred nanometers across. The bright portion of the particles corresponds to silver stripes; the less bright portion corresponds to gold stripes. Five different striping patterns can be seen in the image. Full size image available through contact

Dr. Natan commented, "Multiplexing has become a fundamental tenet of life science research. Scientists are no longer content merely to measure one or even 100 analytes at a time. An excellent example is the gene chip which allows parallel analysis of 10,000 different genes on a chip surface. However, there is a tremendous need for analogous technologies that can perform multiplexed bioassays in solution. Nanobarcodes particles allow us to create an essentially unlimited number of unique particles that can be utilized for highly multiplexed analysis of genes, proteins and other analytes in solution."

The Science article describes use of the Nanobarcodes particles in biological assay applications and demonstrates their feasibility for a variety of proteomic and genomic applications. SurroMed owns exclusive intellectual property rights covering Nanobarcodes particles and their applications, and the company is developing this technology for use in its proprietary platform for comprehensive phenotypic analysis and biological marker discovery.

"Nanobarcodes particles are a potentially very significant development in biochemical analysis," said Richard Van Duyne, Ph.D., Morrison Professor of Chemistry at Northwestern University. "The combination of powerful multiplexing technologies such as Nanobarcodes particles and computational tools will allow us to examine the complex interactions occurring at all levels of biological systems and better understand disease processes."

Gordon Ringold, Ph.D., SurroMed’s Chairman and CEO, said, "Biological samples are extraordinarily complex and may contain hundreds of different cell populations and thousands of different proteins, peptides and low molecular weight molecules that provide information about disease processes and patient response to medications. Developing technologies that enable hundreds to thousands of these analytes to be identified and quantified using minute amounts of blood and other biological samples is a key step toward discovering novel diagnostic products and new therapeutic approaches. The Nanobarcodes particles technology is an important component of SurroMed’s proprietary platform for comprehensive phenotypic analysis and biological marker discovery."

Note: Additional photos and images available upon request.

About SurroMed, Inc.

Headquartered in Mountain View, California, SurroMed uses its integrated phenotyping and biological marker discovery platform to better understand the root causes of disease and the factors underlying patient-to-patient variations in disease presentation, progression and response to therapy. Discoveries arising from its research will enable improved, cost-efficient discovery and development of therapeutic and diagnostic products. SurroMed's phenotyping and biological marker discovery platform incorporates advanced proprietary technologies for profiling and analysis of hundreds of immune cell populations, proteins and low-molecular-weight organic molecules (such as sugars, peptides or lipids) in small volumes of blood and/or other biological samples, while maintaining complete patient confidentiality. By capturing and analyzing enormous amounts of clinical and biological information in a massively parallel fashion to identify useful biological markers, SurroMed plans to enable the precise diagnosis and effective treatment of disease. SurroMed has collaborations with the Palo Alto Medical Foundation for Rheumatoid arthritis and Eunoe, Inc. for Alzheimer’s disease. SurroMed Pte Ltd., SurroMed's wholly owned subsidiary, operates an advanced research and development facility in Singapore that focuses on Nanobarcodes particles technology.

Contacts:
SurroMed, Inc.
August J. Moretti
CFO and General Counsel
(650) 230-1564
email: amoretti@surromed.com

Noonan/Russo Communications, Inc.
Talya Gould
Account Executive
(415) 677-4455 ext. 284
email: t.gould@noonanrusso.com