TECH-Transfer

We are aware that technology protection is the only way to create a sustainable economic growth in our region. Therefore, improving competitiveness of existing companies through transfer of intellectual property rights or starting new technology-based companies is one of the main challenges in our research group. Our activity in this field can be witnessed by:

1. Foundation of the company NANOGAP (www.nanogap.es)

NANOGAP was incorporated in 2006 and is a spin-out from the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC). The company is located near the USC in Galicia, NW Spain. In 2010 international presence was increased with the creation of a US subsidiary in California.

NANOGAP is a nanomaterial company built on a technology platform of precisely controlled wet chemistry, expertise developed over 25 years by its co-founders, as the leaders of the NANOMAG Research Group at the USC. Nanomaterials, the building blocks of the nanotechnology revolution, are defined by having at least one dimension less than 100 nm in size. Due to this small size nanomaterials exhibit new and improved properties over their “bulk material” counterparts. From the NANOGAP technology platform, novel, high performance nanomaterials are produced, including: unique to NANOGAP sub-nm Atomic Quantum Clusters (AQC); spherical nanoparticles between 5 and 50 nm in size; high aspect ratio nanofibers; and recently, the AQC technology has been further developed to produce a new class of materials, Charge Transfer Clusters (CTC) and Charge Transfer Cluster Nanosomes (CTC-N). These products, with a broad range of properties and benefits, find applicability in a diverse variety of applications and markets. This includes electrically conductive materials that can be used in preparation of conductive inks for printed electronics, antistatic coatings, highly conductive adhesives and transparent conductive films; photoluminescent materials with unique optical fingerprints that are being developed for security printing and medical diagnostic applications; antimicrobial additives for coatings and plastics which make surfaces hygienically clean, without adversely affecting any other properties; and a potential new therapeutic treatment for cancer. This broad range of opportunities, coupled to a flexible business model provides both short-term revenue opportunities from contract R&D and product sales as well as longer-term high value income from license agreements.

2) PATENT FAMILIES (transferred to NANOGAP; total: 113, granted 86)
  • STABLE ATOMIC QUANTUM CLUSTER, PRODUCTION METHOD THEREOF AND USE OF SAME (WO 2007017550 A1)
    Priority Date: 30/08/2005
    Authors/Ownership: Arturo López Quintela and José Rivas Rey/USC
    Granted in ES US JP KR, also applied in EP IN
  • USE OF ATOMIC QUANTUM CLUSTER (AQC) AS ANTIMICROBIAL AGENTS AND BIOCIDES (WO 2009043958 A1)
    Priority Date: 05/10/2007
    Authors/Ownership: Manuel Arturo López Quintela, José Rivas Rey and MªCarmen Blanco Varela/USC
    Granted in ES EP DE FR GB IT US
  • CONDUCTIVE INKS OBTAINED BY COMBINING AQCS AND METAL NANOPARTICLES (WO2011064430 A4)
    Priority Date: 25/11/2009
    Authors/Ownership: Manuel Arturo López Quintela/NANOGAP-USC
    Granted in ES US JP KR, also applied in EP
  • PROCESS FOR PREPARING ANISOTROPIC METAL NANOPARTICLES (WO 2011113914 A1)
    Priority Date: 18/03/2010
    Authors/Ownership: Manuel Arturo López Quintela and Jose Rivas Rey/NANOGAP-USC
    Granted in ES EP DE FR GB IT US JP CN, also applied in KR
  • LUMINESCENT NANOSYSTEMS (WO2012172002 A1)
    Priority Date: 15/06/2011
    Authors/Ownership: Manuel Arturo López Quintela /USC
    Granted in EP ES DE FR GB IT US JP, also applied in KR
  • USE OF LUMINISCENT NANOSYSTEMS FOR AUTHENTICATING SECURITY DOCUMENTS
    Priority Date: 15/06/2011
    Authors/Ownership: Manuel Arturo López Quintela and Vicente García Juez /NANOGAP-FNMT
    Granted in EP AT CH CZ DE ES FR GB GR IE IT PL PT TR US JP CN BD AR CL MX CO MA, also applied in KR IN ID HK PH BR NG
  • PHOTOCONVERSION OF LIGHT USING METAL SUPPORTED ATOMIC QUANTUM CLUSTERS (WO 2013079669 A1)
    Priority Date: 02/12/2011
    Authors/Ownership: Manuel Arturo López Quintela and José Rivas Rey /USC
    Granted in EP DE ES FR GB IT JP KR, also applied in US KR
  • LUMINESCENT NANOCOMPOUNDS (WO 2014090853 A1)
    Priority Date: 12/12/2012
    Authors/Owners: Manuel Arturo López Quintela/NANOGAP
    Granted in US, also applied in EP JP KR
  • USE OF LUMINESCENT NANOCOMPOUNDS FOR AUTHENTICATING SECURITY DOCUMENTS (WO 2014090867 A3)
    Priority Date: 12/12/2012
    Authors/Owners: Manuel Arturo López Quintela and Vicente García Juez/NANOGAP-FNMT
    Granted in EP AT ES GR IT PL PT CZ TR DE FR IE GB CH US JP CN HK BD AR CO MA NG, also applied in KR IN ID PH BR CL MX
  • PROCESS FOR PREPARING ANISOTROPIC METAL NANOPARTICLES AND AGENT FOR CONTROLLING GROWTH THEREOF (WO 2015082530 A1)
    Priority Date: 03/12/2013
    Authors/Owners: Manuel Arturo López Quintela and Carlos Vázquez Vázquez/NANOGAP
    Applied in EP
  • CONDUCTIVE ADHESIVE COMPOSITION (WO2016087613)
    Priority Date: 14/12/2014
    Authors/Owners: Manuel Arturo López Quintela and Senén Paz Abuín/NANOGAP-GAIRESA
    Applied in EP
  • PROCESS FOR OXIDATION OF ORGANOSULFUR COMPOUNDS (EP17382482)
    Priority Date: 21/07/2017
    Authors/Owners: Manuel Arturo López Quintela and David Buceta Fernández/NANOGAP-USC
    Applied in EP
  • PROCESS FOR PRODUCING ATOMIC QUANTUM CLUSTERS (EP18382038.0)
    Priority Date: 24/01/2018
    Authors/Owners: Manuel Arturo López Quintela and David Buceta Fernández/NANOGAP-USC
    Applied in EP

OTHER PATENTS

  • Method for producing sheets of graphene (WO2016107942)
    Priority date: 19/11/2015
    Authors/Owners: M.A. López-Quintela, S. S. Gagik , C. Vázquez-Vázquez/USC
    Granted in ES, also applied in EP (not yet transferred)

PATENTS already expired.

  • Sensor  de  estado  líquido  para  termómetros  y  manómetros  de precisión I (ES2009953)
    Priority Date: 1988
    Authors/Ownership: M. Arturo López Quintela,  A.  Fernández  Nóvoa,  J.  Quibén,  D.
    Losada(USC
    Granted in ES
  • Sensor  de  estado  líquido  para  termómetros  y  manómetros  de precisión II (ES2009954).
    Priority Date: 1988
    Authors/Ownership: M. A. López Quintela,  A.  Fernández  Nóvoa,  J.  Quibén, D.
    Losada/USC
    Granted in ES
  • Nuevo procedimiento para la  obtención  de  partículas  magnéticas ultrafinas de Nd-Fe-B (ES2009404)
    Priority Date: 1991
    Authors/Ownership: M. A. López Quintela, J. Rivas, J. Quibén/USC
    Granted in ES, USA
  • Procedimiento para la obtención de partículas magnética de  tamaño ultrafine (ES 9102248)
    Priority date: 1991
    Authors/Ownership: M.A. López Quintela, J. Rivas/USC
    Granted in ES
  • Procedimiento   para   la   obtención   de   nanopartículas   por polimerización en microemulsions (ES 9200433)
    Priority date: 1992
    Authors/Ownership: M.A. López Quintela, J. Blanco/USC
    Granted in ES
  • Recubrimiento de partículas magnéticas para la obtención de fluidos magnéticos estables (ES 9102248)
    Priority date: 1997
    Authors/Ownership: M.A. López Quintela, J. Rivas/USC
    Granted in ES
3.Research projects with industries/companies/foundations

PROJECT: OBRA SOCIAL LA CAIXA FOUNDATION
Title: Sinthesis, characterization and study of the antitumour properties of atomic quantum clusters (AQC’s) and organometallic complexes of Ru(II), Ir(III) and Rh(III)
Financed by: Obra Social La Caixa Foundation
Duration: 2017-2019

PROJECT:  RAMÓN ARECES FOUNDATION
Title: H2.VIS.CLUS – Photoproduction of hydrogen with atomic quantum clusters using visible light
Financed by: Ramon Areces Foundation
Duration: 2017-2019

PROJECT: SENER
Title: Production of hydrogen with solar light using metalic clusters
Financed by: SENER
Duration : 2018-2019