We are delighted to announce that the University of Bristol Enterprise Fund II, managed by Parkwalk, has invested in NuNano.

NuNano specialise in the design of cantilever-based sensor devices and probes for atomic force microscopy. Microcantilevers are the simplest form of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), which have come to prominence in the last decade or so. The basic technology employed measures a change in the bending or the vibrational frequency of the cantilever caused by a disproportionate reaction with one side of the cantilever. This reaction may be chemical or biological, physical or electrical and it can be monitored to levels beyond the ability of optical components to measure, for example by utilising the piezoelectric effect.

Atomic-force microscopy (AFM) is a very high resolution process, with results 1000 times better than the limits of optical diffraction, that utilises cantilever-based sensors with sharp tips. They are typically used to measure and image the topographical surface of an object, to measure electrostatic or capillary forces, conductivity and other properties or to manipulate objects on an atomic scale.