July 2011

Welcome to Synkera Technologies’ Bio & Life Sciences newsletter! This is the first issue of our Bio & Life Sciences Quarterly, in which we will cover product FAQs, new product development, events, and other news.

New Product Development

Synkera is excited to announce two new SBIR awards, targeted at development of our nanoceramic and MEMS technology for application in environmental sample processing and bio-imaging.

In May 2011, Synkera started a SBIR Phase I project, funding by the Department of Homeland Security, to develop a Membrane Cascaded Module for preparation of environmental samples for biological detection. A cascade of our nanoporous ceramic membranes will be implemented in series to sort cells, cell fragments, and smaller biomolecules into discrete streams, which can then be further processed (e.g. protein vs. nucleic acid) and/or analyzed. More details can be found in our full press release.

In late summer/early fall, Synkera will start a SBIR Phase II project, funded by the NIH, for development of Electron Microscopy Grids for cell culturing and multi-scale imaging. A very successful Phase I project demonstrated a promising product with key unique features compared to current metal and Si-based products.

These projects build on another key product development at Synkera, ultrafiltration membranes for protein purification. We are currently in the middle of a SBIR Phase II (also funded by the NIH) that is targeted at refining our nanoporous ceramic-based asymmetric membranes for separation and isolation of proteins, featuring very sharp molecular-weight cut-off (MWCO) and superior sample recovery.

Events

• June, 2011: Synkera attended the 2011 BIO International Convention in Washington DC on June 27-29. Many thanks to all of you that took the time to discuss your thoughts and needs. Based on your feedback, Synkera believes it has a great lineup of products to help improve bioprocess and drug discovery.

• August, 2011: Synkera will attend the Fall 2011 ACS National Meeting in Denver August 28 through September 1. Contact us to set up an appointment to meet.

Product FAQ

Beginning this issue, Synkera will include information on popular topics and questions about products and services that we currently offer.

This week's topic:

What is the difference between your “Symmetric” and “Asymmetric” Membranes?

Symmetric Membranes feature a constant pore size across the entire thickness of the membrane. Pore diameters may range from 13 to 150 nm in our standard offerings, and also may be customized in the range of 10-200 nm. We have offered this product line since 2003, and the membranes have been successfully used in a wide range of applications by our customers. More detail on technical specifications and applications can be found here.

Asymmetric Membranes feature different pore sizes on each face of the membrane. One side of the membrane has large diameter pores (100-200 nm), and these pores span the nearly the entire thickness of the membrane, in order to ensure high permeance. The other side of the membrane features smaller pore diameter, in the range of 2-18 nm for our standard offerings. These smaller pores span only a small fraction of the thickness of the membrane, to form an active layer that enables precise size-based separation. We launched this product line in 2010 to enthusiastic response, and more detail on technical specifications and applications can be found here.

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