BioForce Nanosciences, an Ames, IA-based nanotechnology firm, put out the word today that it’s looking for financial backing for its ViriChip platform, a patented system designed to detect and identify whole viruses. The firm believes the technology, from which ultraminiaturized biodetection devices could be developed, could have a major impact in biodefense. The ViriChip technology can detect a variety of different pathogens: environmental pathogens, pathogens relevant to biodefense, animal and plant viruses such as Avian flu and West Nile virus, and human disease agents like herpes and SARS. With appropriate funding, says BioForce CEO Eric Henderson, the firm hopes “to inform scientific leaders and decision makers about the importance of nanotechnology in the life sciences.”