New York Startup Targets Faster PCR Amplification

Thermal Gradient Inc., a one-year-old startup in Rochester, NY, is preparing to begin testing a prototype device that accelerates PCR amplification for DNA testing.

The company, which is funded by venture capital firm The Trillium Group, has produced a prototype device, which it says is about half the size of a paperclip, able to perform a 30-cycle polymerase chain reaction within minutes, accelerating what is typically a labor-intensive process that takes hours.

The company is aiming to mass manufacture the device for application in diagnostics through a partnership with the Infotonics Technology Center, a private-public collaboration based in Canandaigua, NY. Testing of the prototype is expected to begin in February at the University of Rochester Medical Center’s Functional Genomics Center

Thermal Gradient was founded by Rochester residents Joel Grover, who is the CEO of the firm, and Robert Juncosa, who is chief technical officer and the inventor of the technology. Both previously worked for Ortho Clinical Diagnostics of Johnson & Johnson.

According to the US Patent and Technology Office, Juncosa is listed as an inventor for US Patent No. 6,485,690, “Multiple fluid sample processor and system” held by Orchid BioSciences of Princeton, NJ.

It's unclear how this device plays into the sticky PCR patent and licensing arena, with Roche holding process patent rights for the PCR-based diagnostics market, and Applied Biosystems holding instrument rights.

But Thermal Gradient's product path is clearly indicative of the path of innovation in molecular biology tools, winding through miniaturization and then mass production, something that perhaps the Infotonics Technology Center can handle. The center's partners include Corning, Eastman Kodak and Xerox as well as some 20 New York State colleges and universities.

And, if successful, this might mean the application of PCR in situations in genomics, or public health when minutes and quality or results are critical.

“PCR technology has become an essential research and diagnostic tool for improving human health and quality of life. PCR technology allows scientists to take a specimen of genetic material, even from just one cell, copy its genetic sequence over and over, and generate a test sample sufficient to detect the presence or absence of a specific virus, bacterium or any particular sequence of genetic material," according to Roche.