The NanoMed Fab sets itself apart from any other R&D facility within Canada by going beyond developing nanotechnology at a fundamental level. 

About us

Nanotechnologies are emerging rapidly as critical new enablers in translating biological discoveries into medicine. Nanoscale constructs could serve as personalized nanomedicine for imaging and therapy of a wide range of diseases especially cancer. The NanoMed Fab Center, housed at the University Health Network, is funded by the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Ontario Research Fund to support and accelerate the overall vision of filling critical innovation gap between ‘making’ and ‘using’ targeted nanoparticles. The Center provides a fully integrated nanomedicine platform—unique in Canada—to fabricate a spectrum of nanoparticles with targeting and pharmacokinetic properties designed for clinical use; to evaluate and validate these nanoparticles in relevant preclinical disease models; to produce and test small scale clinical-grade materials under GMP/GLP regulations.

Our services

The NanoMed Fab provides easy access of various equipment and devices for scientists and researchers. These equipment and devices are contained within our five R&D modules, and are categorized based on the type of research they support. Our modules include nano-fabrication, ligand synthesis, characterization, preclinical evaluation, and up-and-coming small-scale cGMP. Users can simply visit each module and look for the type of research they would like to perform, or find the equipment directly listed under each module. To better serve all users and avoid usage conflict, equipment listed in each module must be booked prior to use. In addition to specific equipment, the NanoMed Fab also provides general lab equipment (pipettes, vortexers, shakers, incubators, etc.), bench space (fume hoods, BSCs, and research benches),  consumables (MilliQ water, tubes, pipette tips, etc.), as well as storage space (shelf space, refrigerators, freezers, cryo-storage containers, etc.).

R&D Modules

• The nano-fabrication module provides the capability for the development of nanmedicine formulations for theranostic applications.
• The ligand synthesis module offers researchers the ability to synthesize and/or purify their own fully customized peptides, DNAs and RNAs.
• The characterization module provides a wide range of analytical tools that can be used to fully understand nanomedicine formulations, including size, zeta potential, molecular weight, purity, structure, concentration, binding affinity, phase transition, etc.
• The pre-clinical evaluation module focuses on the assessment of theranostic formulations in terms of their in vitro performance in cells and/or phantoms. This includes the evaluation of binding kinetics, cellular uptake, target specificity, therapeutic efficacy, gene expression, etc.
• The small-scale cGMP module is an up-and-coming part of the NanoMed Fab. It will focus on the production and quality control of clinical grade nanomedicine formulations.