Start-up Uses New Incubator Space To Commercialize UCLA Technology

Main Category: Medical Devices / Diagnostics
Article Date: 27 May 2009 - 4:00 PDT

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UCLA has opened a new technology incubation space within the California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI) to Matrix Sensors Inc., a start-up that's developing multichannel gas and biological sensor systems based on technology developed jointly by UCLA and Stanford University researchers.

The technology holds promise for the highly sensitive and accurate detection of harmful gases, which could have practical applications in both public and industrial settings. Matrix Sensors is a seed-stage company founded in March 2006 by UCLA chemistry and biochemistry professor James Gimzewski and Stanford electrical engineering professors Butrus T. Khuri-Yakub and Calvin F. Quate, who co-developed capacitive micro machined ultrasonic transducer (CMUT) technology for chemical and biological sensors. Matrix Sensors obtained an exclusive license for the technology, providing the University of California with an equity position in the company.

Matrix plans to use CMUT technology for gas and biological analytes to develop products with high analyte resolution, accuracy, and stability suitable for commercial applications, such as monitoring the release of gases in large public settings. "The versatility of these microchip sensors is very encouraging in terms of practical applications," Gimzewski says. "We think the sensors can be placed in portable handheld devices such as cell phones, which broadens the accessibility of instant analysis."

Source
UCLA

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