NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Claremont BioSolutions said today it has entered a strategic partnership with investment firm In-Q-Tel to accelerate commercialization of Claremont's Prep-on-a-Chip sample preparation platform.
The Upland, Calif.-based nucleic acid extraction and purification products firm added that In-Q-Tel also invested in the company but provided no further details.
Claremont is leveraging the mechanical energy of micromotors used in the cell phone industry to develop disposable sample prep devices that "efficiently lyse any cell type and simultaneously extract DNA or RNA." The devices are battery powered and are currently operated by hand. Use of a syringe or pipette transports the sample through a small chamber where the cells are lysed and nucleic acids are extracted in less than five minutes, Clarement said.
"The In-Q-Tel investment will aid us in our mission to multiplex and automate the handling of the devices, completing our development of the Prep-on-a-Chip platform," Claremont CEO Gary Blackburn said in a statement.
During the past year the company announced distribution deals covering Europe, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, the UK, and Ireland.