On July 15th – 18th I attended the Gold 2018 Conference in Paris, France. You couldn’t have asked for a more inspiring location for a conference; on the campus of the Sorbonne Université, located along the River Seine and close to the world-famous Notre-Dame cathedral.
Sona Nanotech was one of a handful of sponsors for the conference, allowing us to showcase our technology to hundreds of scientists from across the world. This was an ideal opportunity for Sona to not only talk about how our unique gold nanorods will impact the diagnostic and medical treatment markets but also to meet and share ideas with scientists from various gold science disciplines.
Throughout the conference, I was able to attend a multitude of fascinating lectures from world-renowned scientists who presented their latest research in the field of gold.
Among the many highlights were Dr Naomi Halas of Rice University, who talked about the applications of gold nanoparticles in biomedicine (bioimaging and photothermal cancer therapy); Dr Neus Bastús of the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology who talked about size-controlled synthesis of citrate-stabilized gold nanoparticles; and Dr Georges Calas from Sorbonne Université, who spoke about how the coordination chemistry of gold demonstrates its diversity in geological systems.
Moving forward, both myself and Sona Nanotech will be able to take away lots of positives from Gold 2018. Sona will benefit from the many connections made through networking, leading to collaborations and supply agreements, with many companies keen to use our unique gold nanorods for their projects. I personally will be able to take away the knowledge gained from the lectures, particularly the wide variety of applications available for gold nanorods.
While at the conference I also had the opportunity to meet Dr. Catherine Murphy, a key member of Sona’s scientific advisory board and a pioneer in gold nanorod technology synthesis and application, and to discuss Sona’s recent growth and future plans. Additionally, it was great to have met Dr. Trevor Keel, former head of technology for the World Gold Council and also a good friend of Sona’s CEO, Darren Rowles. Dr. Keel and I discussed the incredible potential of Sona’s gold nanorods in medical applications. It was a pleasure and privilege to have met these inspiring individuals.
However, it wasn’t all work. On the final day of the conference, attendees were invited to a banquet at the Pavillons de Bercy, an art museum in Paris. There we were entertained with a light-show and opera performance while being served a multi-course, traditional French meal. Later we were offered a tour of their collection of objects from the performing arts of the 19th and 20th century. It was a unique opportunity and an exciting end to the conference.
One of the benefits of attending this conference was being in Paris, a cultured and historic city with many sites of interest. I was very fortunate to have been able to experience the celebrations of France’s national holiday, Bastille Day, and France’s 4-2 victory over Croatia in the FIFA World Cup, memories I will never forget.
I would like to thank Gold 2018 for allowing myself and Sona Nanotech to be a part of this amazing event.