Roswell Biotechnologies Inc. announced the first molecular electronics chip. It also introduced the Roswell Molecular Electronics (ME) Platform for biosensing application.
The San Diego-based company, Roswell introduced the technology and an early development partnership program at the inaugural of Molecular Electronics Day in San Diego. This event was also marked by the 50th anniversary of the launch of the Intel 4004, first microprocessor chip.
The Roswell ME Platform is being developed for applications in drug discovery, molecular diagnostics, and sequencing. The Roswell ME Platform integrates single molecules into electronic circuits acting as sensor elements to create the first fully scaled biosensors on standard semiconductor chips. The sensor translates the dynamic process of molecular interactions into electrical measurements in real-time. The sensor targets are programmed according to the particular molecule wired into the chip, providing for a programmable and universal biosensor platform. This new kind of single-molecule measurement with resolution for individual binding events enables an unprecedented and information-rich view of biology to transform major markets. On-chip results in a powerful biosensor with ultimate scalability for a broad range of applications deployed on smart, compact devices.
“The Roswell ME Chip realizes a 50-year vision of putting molecules into chips, and I would like to thank our entire team and the scientific pioneers in molecular electronics who made this possible,” said Paul Mola, Roswell Biotechnologies’ founder, CEO and president, which was founded in 2014 by industry leaders in genomic technologies. “As a universal, programmable biosensor, the Roswell ME Platform opens a new era of digitizing biology, just as the first microprocessor opened the era of digitizing information.”
“Innovation in drug discovery is fueled by new views of how molecules interact, and new ways to increase the scale of molecular screening,” said Dhaval Patel, PhD, executive vice president and chief scientific officer of UCB, a global pharmaceutical company. “The Roswell ME Platform has the unique potential to address both these areas with its new molecular biosensor chip. This represents the type of deep technological advance that could accelerate the discovery of new medicines.”
In 2019, Roswell partnered with IMEC (a research and innovation hub in nanoelectronics and digital technologies) to enable the company to develop foundry-compatible manufacturing processes for the Roswell ME Chip. The company recently expanded its facilities to support the transition to commercialization. Roswell also engaged with the Scientific Advisory Board and ramped-up hiring, including adding to its leadership team.
