A company that makes particles smaller than one 800th of the width of a human hair has raised £4.3m to develop the products of the future -- from suncreams to cancer tests.

Oxonica, an Oxford University spin-off company based at Begbroke Science Park, specialises in making nanoparticles, the size of just a few atoms, which have special properties.

The investment will allow Oxonica to double its staff from 11 to 22 by the end of the year, scale up production of its products and find partner companies to launch them on to the market.

The £4.3m was raised from half a dozen venture capital companies in Britain and the US by corporate finance house FirstStage Capital.

Chief executive Kevin Matthews said: "Institutional funding is particularly scarce at the moment, so this investment is testament to the strength of Oxonica's world-class technology, and importantly, its ability to generate real volume product sales in the short term." Business angels Charles Eld, former managing director of Morrells Brewery in Oxford, and City investor Richard Fairleigh invested £1.5m to set up the company in 1999 to commercialise the work of Prof Peter Dobson and Dr Gareth Wakefield, of Oxford University.

Originally they aimed to develop a new material for the next generation of flat-screen TVs, but have now changed course to target three different markets -- sunscreens, catalysts to improve fuel efficiency in the motor industry, and a material for dyes to diagnose viruses and tumours.

Nanoparticles are usually less than a millionth of a metre across, or one 800th of the width of a human hair.

The company has patented techniques to rapidly create prototype nanoparticles and identify which ones can solve a given problem. Hazel Moore, chairman of FirstStage Capital, said: "Only the very best technology companies are receiving investment in the current environment.

"We are impressed by the strength of Oxonica's management team and are confident that Oxonica has every chance of becoming a world-leading UK technology company".