DNA nano study

has received an £11.8m investment from life science tool manufacturer

to develop and commercialise its Base technology for DNA sequencing.

The technology from Oxford Nanopore could help advances in personalised medicine, a concept in which doctors use individual and genetic information to provide the best healthcare for a person.

This genetic information can only be revealed by cracking an individual's DNA code, which is stored as four chemical bases - adenine, guanine, cytosine and thymine.

DNA sequencing systems provide a printout detailing the order of a person's As, Gs, Cs and Ts.

The technology electrically identifies DNA bases without the use of fluorescent labels, a common technique in DNA sequencing that requires time-consuming sample preparation.

It uses a nano-sized protein pore and a special enzyme called an exonuclease, both of which are set into an oily layer arrayed on a silicon chip.

The exonuclease works to split DNA bases from their strand and direct them into the aperture of the nanopore.