CLEVELAND, Nov. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- JumpStart Inc., Northeast Ohio’s venture development organization has announced an investment commitment of $350,000 in Aria Analytics, Inc. Aria is a Cleveland-based company commercializing a unique tool that measures the physical and chemical attributes of liquids based on unique profiles created by acoustically probing the sample during evaporation.
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Use of this technology spans across the industrial paints and coatings, food and beverage, and healthcare markets, as these unique “signatures” can be used in quality control testing, manufacturing process testing, product formulation development, as well as research and development. For example, Aria’s device has the potential to be used for detecting counterfeit pharmaceuticals, which reportedly costs the industry $32 billion per year.
JumpStart’s investment will be used for the commercial development of Aria’s technology. Specifically, the funding will allow the company to continue industrial application development, further product design work and perform additional research and development.
This novel analytical process was developed in Russia at the Institute for Applied Physics, Nizhny Novgorod and brought to the United States for commercialization by 5i Tech. Aria was founded in partnership with the Russian inventors and the Institute. The technology will improve the efficiency and cost effectiveness of analytical testing. Aria’s proprietary technology consists of a replaceable quartz crystal sensor, supporting electronic circuitry, a sample dispensing module, and proprietary software. As a drop of liquid evaporates on the vibrating quartz crystal sensor, it undergoes distinctive phase changes representing the chemical and physical characteristics of the drop. Specific benefits of this type of testing include little or no sample preparation, quick turnaround times, applicability to a wide variety of markets, and portability.
“Currently, a number of tests are required to determine the specific chemical and physical properties that characterize raw materials and products,” says Christina Vacca, chief executive officer of Aria. “These tests are time consuming, expensive, and/or require potentially dangerous reagents to prepare samples for testing. With Aria’s process, we are able to perform a single test at a fraction of the cost and time and without the use of hazardous chemicals. One such use of the information generated by our technology is the ability to track changes in the samples that occur over time. “
In addition to the financial investment, Mark Smith, Entrepreneur-in- Residence from JumpStart’s Acceleration Team, will be providing business development services to the company.
“Aria is yet another example of Northeast Ohio’s strength in advanced technologies,” Smith said. “We are excited about working with Chris to move the Aria technology closer to market acceptance.”
This is JumpStart’s 32nd investment in 24 companies. Other companies in JumpStart’s portfolio include AcelleRX Therapeutics, AnalizaDx, FLX Micro, RSP Tooling, Synapse Biomedical, CardioInsight Technologies and Great Lakes Pharmaceuticals.
About Aria Analytics, Inc.
Aria Analytics is commercializing a novel platform analytical technology used to characterize liquids in industry and medical testing. This technology lowers both capital and operating costs per test. Prior to the availability of the Aria technology it was necessary to run a battery of tests on multiple laboratory instruments to obtain a profile of a specific sample. The Aria technology differentiates liquids by providing a unique acoustic signature during the drying process of the sample. Aria’s mission is to provide sound analysis for industry and healthcare.
About JumpStart Inc.
JumpStart (www.jumpstartinc.org) accelerates the growth of innovative early-stage businesses and ideas into venture-ready companies by delivering vital, focused resources to entrepreneurs and the community of Northeast Ohio. JumpStart identifies and invests in early-stage companies that have strong potential in the marketplace, solid prospects for high growth, and are likely to qualify for later-stage funding. Beyond investing, the JumpStart team provides a continuum of business development services to its client companies to help ensure their success.
CONTACT: Tiffan Clark, Vice President of Marketing of JumpStart Inc.,
+1-216-363-3400, Tiffan.Clark@jumpstartinc.org
Web site: http://www.jumpstartinc.org/
