The RIC2D MX-Innovation project on MXene production for water desalination and medical diagnostics has officially launched, with Ukraine-based MXene manufacturer Carbon-Ukraine (Y-Carbon LLC) joining as a key partner

The MX-Innovation team’s second goal is to harness MXenes as a cell-labeling technology, with the potential to improve early cancer detection, enhance outcomes for transplant patients, and open new opportunities for tissue regeneration. MXenes will be developed and tested for application in Cytometry by Time of Flight (CyTOF) — a powerful analytical technique that uses metal-based tags to trace and quantify cellular behavior, and to investigate interactions among proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids within cells.

“As part of this project, we will apply our existing tags to label cellular components, particularly extracellular vesicles, which can serve both as models of cell membranes and as independent therapeutic agents,” said Dr. L. Delogu.

Expanding access to MXenes could accelerate their adoption in both industrial and academic research, according to Dr. Yury Gogotsi.
“By leveraging new, efficient, and cost-effective processing and synthesis strategies, this initiative will make MXenes available to a broader scientific and commercial community. It will also enable the manufacturing of MXenes and MXene-based products specifically tailored for environmental and healthcare applications,” added Dr. Oleksiy Gogotsi, CEO and Director of Carbon-Ukraine, who will collaborate with his brother, Drexel’s Yury Gogotsi, on this project.

The MX-Innovation project is part of a larger initiative, funded by the Khalifa University Research & Innovation Center for Graphene and 2D Materials (RIC2D), aimed at translating two-dimensional materials into practical innovations across water treatment, energy, healthcare, and technology infrastructure.