A new study by Noul Co., Ltd.,, a KOSDAQ-listed biotech startup, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Clinical Hospital was published in American Chemical Society Applied Materials and Interfaces, a renowned academic journal.
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Hydrogel stamping is part of NGSI (Next Generation Staining & Immunostaining) technology, which is Noul’s proprietary technology that uses solid-based staining instead of the conventional liquid-based one that labs all over the world have been using for over a century. This drastically cuts down on the amount of specimen needed by up to 1/100, and eliminates the need for cleaning or drying, thus generating zero wastewater in the process.
According to the paper, Hydrogel Stamping for Rapid, Multiplexed, Point of Care Immunostaining of Cells and Tissues, Noul‘s hydrogel stamping allowed quality immunostaining in one-sixth of time for cells using one-eighth of antibody consumption compared to the conventional solution-based method.
Hydrogel Stamping identified up to nine biomarkers that diagnose breast cancer even though the amount of antibody was reduced. This study confirmed the potential of Hydrogel based immunostaining as a core technology necessary for precise cancer diagnosis.
The researchers performed clinical evaluation of immunohistochemical staining (IHC) and biomarkers (HER2, ER, PR) using tissue samples from 12 breast cancer patients. The study has concluded that the developed hydrogel stamping is a highly efficient and simple immunostaining method to stain cells and tissue samples. In addition, when multiple fluorescence is applied to a hydrogel used for staining, multiple analysis is possible, enabling precise diagnosis.
Meanwhile, Noul is conducting R&D on next-generation diagnostic tests and precision medicine to expand the application of Noul’s original technologies and secure new technologies. In 2021, Noul published the paper in the same journal, introducing NGSI as a simple, reproducible, and reasonable method that does not require a separate staining reagent for blood cell staining.
David Lim, Noul’s CEO said “Based on deep tech such as bio, SW/AI, and platforms, Noul has developed and introduced an irreplaceable decentralized diagnostic platform in the market. Through preemptive and continuous R&D, we will secure the reliability of our products and build various bases for confirming our technological prowess in the next-generation diagnostic test and precision medical fields, which are included in Noul’s future portfolio.”