New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) and the New Jersey Innovation Institute (NJII) today announced the launch of PureTrace Labs, a startup created to bring NJIT-developed technology for rapid detection of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to market. The company marks the first official launch from NJII’s Venture Studio, supported by an investment of up to $1 million.
The launch event took place Oct. 29, at the Profeta Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, where leaders from NJIT and NJII formalized the agreement through an exclusive startup license for NJIT Technology ID 24-016, “Method for Rapid Detection of PFAS.” The license was signed on NJIT’s behalf by NJIT President Teik Lim and NJII President Michael Johnson for PureTrace Labs.
“PureTrace Labs is the perfect embodiment of what the NJII Venture Studio was designed to do in commercializing intellectual property, and I am very proud of the team in building and starting to deploy a venture fund so quickly,” said Johnson. PureTrace Labs is built upon the research of Hao Chen, professor of chemistry and environmental science at NJIT, whose team developed a paper-spray mass spectrometry method capable of detecting PFAS compounds in water, soil and packaging materials in under three minutes. That breakthrough, published in Journal of Hazardous Material, slashes the time, cost and complexity of traditional PFAS testing. To read the full story.