Nano Nexus 2007 is a new nanotechnology event with an emphasis on education for all the critical players in nanotechnology commercialization, universities, government, industry and the investment community. Nano Nexus 2007 was hosted by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), a world-leader in nanotechnology research, located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

The event had three distinct tracks: Nano Idea to Product® (I2P®) business competition, Nano Industry Forum and Nano Venture Showcase and was funded by ORNL, Tech 2020, kauffman foundation and Oak Ridge- Knoxville Nano Alliance. The Nano I2P® Competition was an early-stage technology commercialization plan competition that aims for unique product ideas using innovative nanotechnologies and matching those ideas with a clear market need and demand. The format was based on the program developed by the University of Texas at Austin.

The following universities reached the semi-finals: Duke, Emory University, Florida Intl. Univ, Florida State Univ, Georgia Tech, Louisiana Tech, Tuskegee University, Univ. of Tennessee, Univ. of Texas, Univ. of Virginia, Vanderbilt Univ and Imperial College London ( the only non US team to reach this stage).

The Imperial College team Aptinostics, made up Nir Grossman and Christopher Johnson, have developed a unique rapid point-of-care (POC) diagnostic tool that will enable for the first time self-testing of sexual-transmitted infections (STIs) by non-professional users. Its technology is built upon innovatively designed bionanoparticles consisting of engineered nucleic acids that sense the STI pathogens and colloidal magnetic nanoparticles that are used to 'concentrate' dilute analytes onto the sensor surface.

Aptinostics did not win the competition (the winning team was NanoTexiTM from Univ of Texas at Austin). However it was a fantastic learning experience mainly due to the open dialogs and the well organization during the competition. It offered a unique opportunity to receive precious feedback from VCs and share dilemmas with the American teams (the American teams were mainly based on MBA students with degree in science). It has given the students a strong motivation to make their idea through to commercialisation.