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Two companies with links to the 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Surrey have raised funds to develop products that will help release high-value contaminated land for redevelopment.

Cybersense Biosystems, set up in 2001 with ?100,000 seed funding from the university and a Department of Trade and Industry Smart award, has raised more than ?225,000 from the Oxford Investment Opportunity Network.

The funding will allow Cybersense to develop a portable land toxicity testing service, Rapid On-site Toxicity Audit System, offering developers a cost-effective way of rapidly screening and monitoring the toxicity of soil, sludge and water samples. Current testing can take five days - ROTAS should deliver in two hours.

Meanwhile, a company formed as a spin-off from research conducted at Cornell 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ, the 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Surrey and the 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Naples will provide biological systems that detoxify heavily contaminated soil and water.

The firm uses ferns and trees to remove toxicants from soil or water through a fungus that, when applied to roots, enhances uptake of contaminants.