Nanosphere Inc.

Gold nanoparticles studded with oligonucleotides form the basis of Nanosphere Inc.'s molecular detection systems. The company claims its lead product can rapidly detect SNPs from a blood sample without PCR and with minimal preparation. Nanosphere has no intentions of entering the discovery arena or of collecting the kinds or volumes of data typical for high-density microarrays: it will develop assays only for clinically validated biomarkers.