SiMPore, Inc., a start-up based in large part around technology licensed from the University of Rochester (NY), has launched its first product — a miniscule filter for a transmission electron microscope (TEM) — and hopes to have its second on the market within a few months. The TEM Grid is packaged in a plastic container smaller than a business card. The clear case contains an orderly arrangement of 10 dots, each about the size of a small bird’s eye. Each of those small discs is a cluster of tiny spots – each a TEM filter. The filters help scientists using an electron beam to look at structures such as proteins. SiMPore’s next filter could be used in protein separation or nanoparticle production. The company also is pitching its products for applications such as medical diagnostics and DNA separations for analysis. With polymer membranes and chromatography as competitors, SiMPore is positioning itself as cheaper and faster than chromatography and more precise than polymer membranes. “It looks like a pretty broad sweet spot,” says CEO Rick Richmond. SiMPore, which employs 10 people, is one of a handful of tech companies based at least partially at UR for the short term, says Gail Norris, director of the university’s OTT. “We were willing to enter into an arm’s-length lease to get (SiMPore) up and running,” she explains.<\/p>\n