- The 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, awarded to Moungi G. Bawendi, Louis E. Brus, and Aleksey Yekimov for their efforts in discovering and synthesizing quantum dots, recognizes the power of nanotechnology
- Nanoscience is the study of structures and molecules whose sizes range between 1 and 100 nm, while nanotechnology is the technology that utilizes nanoscience in practical applications
- The applications of nanotechnology are wide-ranging, from industrial-scale catalysis and modern electronics to precision medicine and quantum technology
- Clene Inc., a late clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, has applied nanotechnology alongside other science concepts in the development of catalytically active nanocrystals
- The catalytic activities of the nanocrystals drive, support, and maintain beneficial metabolic and energetic cellular reactions within diseased, stressed, and damaged cells
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (“the Academy”), which is responsible for awarding Nobel Prizes in Chemistry and Physics, decided to award this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Moungi G. Bawendi, Louis E. Brus, and Aleksey Yekimov for their efforts in discovering and synthesizing quantum dots, nanometer-sized semiconductor crystals that bring colored light to TV screens with Q-LED technology (https://ibn.fm/shWLi). The 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry recognizes the power of nanotechnology and the importance of quantum dots in nanotechnology.
Although the origins of nanotechnology predate the trio of laureates, their work was “part of the earliest wave of modern nanotechnology where researchers began putting breakthroughs in material science to practical use,” according to Andrew Maynard, Professor of Advanced Technology Transitions at the Arizona State University (https://ibn.fm/oiB0C). The Academy agrees, noting in a document that gives the scientific background of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry that “The discovery of quantum dots, and the ability to synthesize such materials with high accuracy but relatively simple chemical methods, was an important step in the development of nanoscience and nanotechnology… it inspired many chemists to engage in [nanoscience]” (https://ibn.fm/ldISn).
Nanoscience is the study of structures and molecules whose sizes range between 1 and 100 nm, while nanotechnology is the technology that utilizes nanoscience in practical applications (https://ibn.fm/q1DzU). Nanotechnology is about harnessing properties that scientists in the field of nanoscience discover to improve the performance of materials or enable entirely new applications. Presently, the applications of nanotechnology range from industrial-scale catalysis and modern electronics to precision medicine and quantum technology. And with research ongoing, new applications and discoveries are a feasible possibility, as Clene (NASDAQ: CLNN), a late clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, has demonstrated.
Clene and its wholly owned subsidiary, Clene Nanomedicine Inc., united concepts from electrochemistry, material science, plasma and quantum physics, biochemistry, and, most importantly, nanotechnology to create and refine a proprietary electro-crystallization method that results in clean-surfaced, highly faceted, and biologically catalytically active nanocrystals. The catalytic activities drive, support, and maintain beneficial metabolic and energetic cellular reactions within diseased, stressed, and damaged cells.
Based on these beneficial capabilities, Clene is developing a broad and deep pipeline of novel clean-surfaced nanotechnology (“CSN(R)”) therapeutics aimed at addressing a range of diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (“ALS”), multiple sclerosis (“MS”), and Parkinson’s disease.
As the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry continues to spotlight nanotechnology and particularly quantum dots, one thing stands out that perhaps also shines this light on Clene’s nanoparticles. Though markedly different, quantum dots and Clene’s catalytically active nanocrystals share one fundamental trait: some of their individual properties can be tuned using the same single parameter – the particle’s size. Just as the different sizes of quantum dots cause them to emit various colors, the sizes of the nanocrystals impact their catalytic activities, according to Clene. (In addition to the size factor, the catalytic activities of the nanocrystals are also determined by their shape, faceting, and chemical composition.)
“Our CSN platform has demonstrated flexibility in its ability to make, for instance, both pure gold and gold-platinum nanocrystals of consistent and reproducible shapes and sizes, in addition to making solutions of ionic zinc and silver. Because of the ease with which new single elemental and composite nanocrystals can be made of varying shapes and sizes using our proprietary techniques, we plan to continue developing a wide range of CSN therapeutics to generate a deep pipeline of drug candidates to treat a host of different diseases,” the company explained in its 2022 annual report (https://ibn.fm/JWVYB).
So far, Clene has developed CNM-Au8, its lead drug candidate, which is an oral suspension of clean-surfaced, catalytically active gold nanocrystals. The company is investigating CNM-Au8 as a disease-modifying treatment for ALS, MS, and Parkinson’s disease. Other products include CNM-ZnAg, a proprietary zinc-silver ionic solution; CNM-AgZn17, a topical gel polymer suspension of silver and zinc ions; and CNM-PtAu7, a gold-platinum nanotherapeutic (https://ibn.fm/JNFh3).
For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Clene.com.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to CLNN are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/CLNN
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