Cambridge startup Ultivue just closed out a $5.15 million Series A for its reagent kits that help researchers inexpensively achieve extremely high resolution microscopy. Notably, Illlumina cofounder David R. Walt helped launch the company.
The research for Ultivue’s two tools – called DNA-PAINT and DNA-Exchange – comes from Harvard University’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering.
They’re meant to generate more informative and detailed images, to be used for life sciences research and medical diagnostics. Here’s how it works:
Ultivue’s reagent kits take advantage of the dynamic and tunable properties of interacting short DNA strands. DNA strands are used to guide and transiently label target biomolecules to reveal exquisite spatial resolution and quantitative information that can provide a more accurate picture of cellular behavior and disease progression.
The tools could be used to study tissue samples, cultured cells and blood smears.
“Ultivue’s technology is revolutionary because it makes very high resolution microscopy experiments possible and enables researchers to look at numerous biomolecules simultaneously in a single sample,” Walt said in a statement.
Ultivue has licensed its technology from Harvard and California Insitute of Technology. The Series A round comes from ARCH Venture Partners, Hansjoerg Wyss and several private investors.
