JPK Instruments Wins Prism Award for Photonics Innovation

JPK Instruments, a leading manufacturer of nanoanalytic instrumentation for research in life sciences and soft matter, has won the international Prism Award for Photonics Innovation in the USA. The Berlin-based company managed to beat its direct competitors following a review and ranking of more than 135 products and applications by a panel of international judges.

In 2007 and 2008, JPK Instruments AG was  recognized by Deloitte as the fastest growing nanotechnology company in Germany. The NanoTracker™ was voted the world’s most innovative product in ‘Life Sciences’, one of nine categories of the competition. Company CEO Frank Pelzer said: “We are pleased that our many years of research are not only appreciated by our customers but have now also found favour with a panel of international experts. Our special thanks go to our employees, without whom this technological achievement would not have been possible.”

Dr Joost van Mameren from JPK’s application team with the award-winning NanoTracker™

The NanoTracker™ operates with laser tweezers and can trap, track and detect nanoparticles solely with light. This allows researchers, for example, to examine at the nanoscale level how viruses and bacteria enter a cell. On this basis, researchers can develop drugs that prevent alien elements from entering cells or promote drug delivery into cells.