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Monday, 18th May 2009 (1080 views)

Nanotechnology can be used to help clamp down on the trade of stolen and counterfeit pharmaceuticals, new research has suggested.

NanoGuardian, based in Skokie, Illinois, has used the technology - in which gold often plays a key role - to develop a way of imprinting identification data on to genuine drugs without altering their ingredients, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Information such as strength, supply chain route, point of manufacture and expiration date can be embedded into pills, vial caps and tablets using the technology, which is expected to be on the market within 18 months.

"We're speaking to 14 companies about [using the technology on] 20 [pharmaceutical] brands right now, in different stages of development and commercial agreements," Dean Hart of NanoGuardian told the news source.

Nanotechnology is also being used elsewhere in the medical sector, with research grants worth £16.5 million recently being awarded to UK scientists for work on treatment for diseases such as cancer and Aids.

 

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