Founded by Franklin Monzon, Jean-Luc Fraikin, Andrew Cleland, and Peter Meinhold in 2013, Spectradyne has commercialized a revolutionary method of measuring sub-micron nanoparticles in liquid. Their Microfluidic Resistive Pulse Sensing (MRPS) technology was invented at UC Santa Barbara (by Fraikin and Cleland), and is capable of measuring particles down to 50nm in diameter at rates of up to 10,000 particles/second. Because MRPS is based on an electrical (as opposed to optical) detection principle, particles are detected equally well regardless of their composition or level of transparency. Since each particle is counted individually, arbitrary levels of polydispersity are handled easily. Application areas include nanomedicine delivery systems, protein aggregation in the biopharma industry, gene therapy, extracellular vesicles, virology, and consumer product quality control. With the unique benefits of Spectradyne’s products, they have expanded their business, and are selling products in Europe, Japan, China, and the UK.

Their first instrument, the nCS1, has proven its measurement capability on a wide range of real industry formulations. It is the only benchtop technology that provides high-resolution size distributions and accurate concentration measurements for particles in the 50-10,000 nm diameter size range. It yields more accurate and representative results than any other method. In addition to the nCS1 instrument, Spectradyne also manufactures the microfluidic cartridges required to execute the nanoparticle measurements.

Spectradyne’s mission is to improve the safety and efficacy of nanotechnology-related applications by analyzing nanoparticle mixtures with unprecedented resolution. The unique advantages of Spectradyne’s technology enable new insights not just in areas of “hard science” like drug research but in more every day areas such as food and paint For example, Spectradyne has used its technology to compare the nanoparticle content of Japanese Sake and Korean Soju, and to find the nanoparticle profile of an off-the-shelf hardwood floor finish.

To encourage new and innovative research using its microfluidics-based nanoparticle analysis technology, Spectradyne has partnered with Particle Technology Labs (PTL), a premier analytical testing facility. This provides access to the nCS1 to researchers who may not have sufficient measurement demand, or sufficient budget available, to purchase the instrument.

“This partnership will expand access to the powerful insights that our technology delivers by providing a low barrier to entry for scientists who are new to Microfluidic Resistive Pulse Sensing (MRPS). Particle Technology Labs is already a trusted provider of high-quality analytical services in many of our target markets, and Spectradyne will provide PTL with increased access to biological markets, including extracellular vesicle research in particular,”

Spectradyne’s CEO Jean-Luc Fraikin

Spectradyne has shown great progress in advancing its MRPS technology. In 2018, Spectradyne was awarded a competitive SBIR Phase IIB grant from the National Science Foundation. This award extended the company’s ongoing SBIR Phase II grant entitled “A low-cost instrument for rapid sub-micron particle size and concentration measurement,” and is structured as a partial match to the company’s strong sales revenue resulting from prior SBIR-funded work. With this support and validation, Spectradyne aims at improving the nCS1 user experience and to broaden the utility of the technology to new markets.

Spectradyne is headquartered in Torrance, California.

Follow Spectradyne’s story at https://nanoparticleanalyzer.com/