March 11, 2004
Montreal, Canada

IatroQuest Corporation, a leading developer of advanced biosensing technologies based in  Montreal, Canada, announced today that it has signed a deal with In-Q-Tel, a  private not for profit venture capital group funded by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). IatroQuest will work with In-Q-Tel to enhance and customize its  Bio-Alloy‚Ñ¢ technology to better meet national security needs. Made possible by  the convergence of biotechnology, advanced semi-conductor materials,  nanotechnology and photonics, Bio-Alloy‚Ñ¢ can rapidly detect and identify a wide  range of biological and chemical agents, without labels and with a high degree  of sensitivity and selectivity.

IatroQuest's Bio-Alloy^TM biochips are made of silicon-based semiconductor materials that are  nanostructured and chemically modified to bind to a wide variety of molecules,  including antibodies, enzymes, nucleotides and chemicals as recognition  elements. The underlying detection principle, based on a photoluminescence  response, relies on quantum confinement and changes in the surface energy  states when the material is excited with low-power blue LED light. Upon  affinity binding of target agents to the recognition elements linked to the Bio-Alloy surface, surface energy perturbations result in an immediate change  in the photoluminescence response, which is easily detected as an increase in  green light intensity.

In  addition to demonstrating real time sensitive detection (in the picogram, 10-12  range) and identification capabilities, Bio-Alloy has several other key technological advantages such as being a label-free method which increases the simplicity of use and reduces the logistical supply requirements and operating  costs, supporting both capture and functional assays, exhibiting low non-specific binding, having concentration-dependent response, being multiplexing-friendly, providing non-destructive detection, and having low power requirements.

"Imagine  how a smoke detector triggers an alarm that results in immediate preventive  action. Likewise, IatroQuest's  technology will be a critical enabling component that can be used to rapidly  detect and improve response times for other environmental hazards in air or  water," said Gilman Louie, CEO of In-Q-Tel.

"IatroQuest's  ability to match the sensitivity of today's laboratory methods at much lower  cost and power can revolutionize biodefense and commercial diagnostic  capabilities," stated John Schafer, CEO of IatroQuest. "IatroQuest is  pleased to be working with In-Q-Tel," added Jean Bourbonnais, President  and Chief Business Officer of IatroQuest, "We see this new relationship as  a major accomplishment and a sign of the importance of our technology in the  defense and intelligence communities. We look forward to even more growth as a  result of our partnership with In-Q-Tel."

About IatroQuest  Corporation
IatroQuest Corporation (www.iatroquest.com) is shaping the future of biosensing using a revolutionary patented technological platform called Bio-Alloy which combines biotechnology, advanced semi-conductor materials, nanotechnology and photonics. Bio-Alloy makes a wide range of products possible in several market segments, such as biodefense, life sciences research and point-of-care diagnostics. Bio-Alloy has unique characteristics that enable rapid detection and quantification, with a high  degree of sensitivity and specificity without using markers, of a wide range of  biological agents as well as small chemical molecules.