Radetec Diagnostics is a Melbourne-based biotech start-up specialised in the manufacturing of advanced luminescent nanoparticles called “quantum dots”, which can be used as labels for imaging and sensing applications. Radetec is using its own quantum dots to develop two point-of-care tests based on lateral flow technology: a rapid multiplex test for Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea (the two most prevalent sexually transmitted infections worldwide) and a rapid antigen test for COVID-19. Radetec’s tests will allow users to test for these diseases accurately, inexpensively, quickly and conveniently — something that is considered the ‘holy grail’ of infectious disease diagnosis and prevention. Capabilities: • Production of advanced fluorescent nanoparticles (quantum dots). We can fine-tune the emission wavelength and the surface chemistry of the particles, making them soluble in water or in organic solvents, and modify them with organic or biological molecules to make them suitable for biomedical applications previously not possible to achieve. • Production of scientific equipment for the development of lateral flow assays. Radetec has created its own striper (to draw lines of proteins on nitrocellulose sheets) and electronic reader (to measure fluorescence and colourimetric signals) that can be used for R&D. The basic models of the striper and the reader are a cost-effective way to develop lateral flow assays in-house.
