The DTI funded Bionanotechnology Centre (UK MNT BNC), part of the Institute, opened in summer 2006 at Imperial College London. The Centre is a ‘state-of-the-art’ facility for rapid prototyping, proof-of-concept R&D, and characterisation. The Institute’s partners in this initiative are the London Centre for Nanotechnology and the National Physical Laboratory.
The Institute’s initial industry partners include Millennium Chemicals, Surface Technology Systems, and Ionscope, an Imperial College spin-out company specialising in non-invasive nano-imaging of living cells.

The Bionanotechnology Centre provides an excellent prototyping facilities and brings together a multidisciplinary research group of scientists and engineers, including Professors Tony Cass (bionanotechnology), Chris Toumazou (bionics), Guang-Zhong Yang (medical imaging), and a strong medical network of London hospitals including St. Mary’s, Royal Brompton, Chelsea and Westminster, and Hammersmith.