Nitto Denko to Start-up Prototyping Centre in Singapore Research Institute

02-24-2011: Nitto Denko Asia Technical Centre (NAT) will be expanding its Singapore base to include a prototyping centre in Singapore. The centre will be pioneered at A*STAR's Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) under a unique Lab-in-RI programme. NAT can leverage on existing infrastructure, research expertise, and save cost on facilities and equipment while working to establish the new prototyping centre.

The decision for the new centre stems from IMRE's successful R&D project with NAT on optical waveguide devices, which are cheaper to manufacture and are more sensitive. NAT now wants to explore the biosensing applications of these devices and put them into a new range of low-cost, easy-to-use, home-based, consumer biosensors.

"The optical waveguide devices that were developed will give us the opportunity to create version 2.0 biosensors for future homes", said Dr Su Xiaodi, a Senior Scientist who heads the IMRE research team. She will be working with NAT to put the devices into home-based biosensors that allow users to monitor their health with greater frequency and care, in the comfort of their home, and between visits to the doctor. The targeted users are those with health conditions that could change rapidly or require immediate attention.

The IMRE-Nitto Denko team will begin R&D development at the new prototyping centre in February 2011 with a prototype expected to be available in early 2012.