Agilent Technologies acquires AFM maker
01/01/2006
Agilent Technologies Inc., the Palo Alto, Calif.-based test and measurement company, has become a player in the atomic force microscope market by acquiring Molecular Imaging Corp. of Tempe, Ariz.
The acquisition is expected to substantially increase the exposure of the Molecular Imaging AFM product line, according to company executives. In turn, said Vance Nau, president and CEO of Molecular Imaging, it will help his 40 staff members focus on their core tasks.
The company’s lead AFM product line is known as the PicoPlus family. The modular, high-resolution AFMs are used for imaging in fluids as well as ambient and controlled conditions. Current customers are mostly in drug discovery, life science, electrochemistry, materials science and polymer science.
Executives said the companies would seek to improve the capabilities of the product and simplify operations in order to address larger markets in the future. Long-term goals include creating a device that could be operated by a technician rather than a doctorate-level scientist, as well as developing application-specific units for uses like defect control in inline manufacturing.
Bob Burns, general manager of Agilent’s Nano Measurements Division, said Agilent would keep the Molecular Imaging team in Tempe because the company has strong ties with Arizona State University. Molecular Imaging was founded in 1993 by Stuart Lindsay and Tianwei Jing of Arizona State.
- David Forman
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Measurement Specialties Inc., a Hampton, Va., designer and manufacturer of sensors and sensor-based consumer products, announced it has acquired the capital stock of HL Planartechnik GmbH, a sensor company located in Dortmund, Germany, for $7.1 million. HL Planartechnik specializes in thin-film metallization processes, producing sensors in a variety of categories.
Nanoforce Technologies Inc. of Clearwater, Fla., entered into an agreement to acquire Refinery Science Corp., a company based in El Paso, Texas, that uses nanotechnology for the extraction and refinement of oil reserves. The company says its technology will help it extract low quality crude oil, such as that from shale and sand, in a cost-efficient and productive process that can compete with light crude refining costs.
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