A Medical Device Daily
Sigma-Aldrich (St. Louis) reported an agreement with Nanoco Technologies, (Manchester, UK) to distribute luminescent quantum dot nanocrystals globally. Sigma-Aldrich will distribute research quantities (less than 1 g) of seven core-shell semiconductor quantum dots through the Aldrich Materials Science initiative of its Research Specialties business.
The nanocrystals will be marketed and distributed under the brand name Lumidots.
Quantum dots (QDs) are nanometer-sized semiconductor nanoparticles that emit bright, near monochromatic light (luminesce) under light or electrical stimulation. Emission color can be tuned by choosing nanocrystal size, making QDs ideal luminophors for cutting-edge applications including ultra-thin displays, solid-state lighting, anti-counterfeit protection, and next-generation solar cells.
Ilya Koltover, PhD, product manager, Aldrich Materials Science, said, “The new Lumidots are an important addition to our line of nanomaterials products, providing researchers around the world reliable access to high-quality quantum dot nanocrystals. Using these materials, scientists and engineers can focus on developing applications that take advantage of the unique properties of quantum dots.”
Nanoco said it will offer larger quantities of quantum dots to partners who move beyond research to development of commercial QD applications.
Sigma-Aldrich develops biochemical and organic chemical products and kits used in scientific and genomic research, biotechnology and diagnostics.
Nanoco is a nanotechnology company holding patents related to industrial-scale production of quantum dots.
In other agreements:
• The state of Idaho has awarded Thomson Healthcare (Stamford, Connecticut) a multi-year contract to provide a healthcare decision support system and data warehouse (DSS/DW) for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, to modernize its Medicaid Management Information System. The DSS/DW system will improve the department’s ability to manage and mine data from healthcare claims submitted to the state Medicaid program.
The Department of Health and Welfare will use analytic and reporting capabilities of the Thomson Healthcare DSS/DW to generate information that supports program planning and evaluation, financial reporting, healthcare utilization management, Medicaid eligibility analysis, actuarial rate setting, and other functions.
The Thomson Healthcare solution integrates an analytically ready data warehouse with advanced methodologies and business intelligence applications.
• Premier Purchasing Partners (Charlotte, North Carolina) reported new agreements for surgical instrument tray reprocessing services/sterilization, a new contracting category, have been awarded to Aesculap (Center Valley, Pennsylvania); American Endoscopy Services (AES; Brentwood, Tennessee), and SRI/Surgical Express (Tampa, Florida).
The company said this portfolio provides flexible pricing options with both on-site and off-site service providers. The service provides customized surgical instrument sets on a per-procedure fee basis.
The 36-month agreements, which took effect Jan. 1, are available to acute-care and continuum-of-care members of the Premier alliance.