Nanoink dead?

 Chad Mirkin?  both founded by Chad Mirkin
Nanosphere, NanoInk, AuraSense, and AuraSense Therapeutics

Nanoink $150M 10 y

Nanosphere $100 IPO, 2007,

http://spectrum.ieee.org/nanoclast/semiconductors/nanotechnology/why-did-nanoink-go-bust

One of the United State’s first nanotechnology companies, NanoInk, has gone belly up, joining a host of high-profile nanotechnology-based companies that have shuttered their doors in the last 12 months: Konarka, A123 Systems andEner1.

These other three companies were all tied to the energy markets (solar in the case of Konarka and batteries for both A123 and Ener1), which are typically volatile, with a fair number of shuttered businesses dotting their landscapes. But NanoInk is a venerable old company in comparison to these other three and is more in what could be characterized as the “picks-and-shovels” side of the nanotechnology business, microscopy tools. NanoInk had been around so long that they were becoming known for their charity work in bringing nanotechnology to the Third World. 

So, what happened? The news tells us that NanoInk’s primary financial backer, Ann Lurie, pulled the plug on her 10-year and $150-million life support of the company. After a decade of showing little return on her investment, Lurie decided that enough was enough. But that’s like explaining that a patient died because their heart stopped. What caused the heart to stop?

2007 Oct 31 (Reuters) - Nanosphere Inc, , on Wednesday raised $98 million with an initial public offering that priced at the bottom of a forecast range. The 7-million share offering priced at $14 per share, compared with a forecast range of $14 to $16, according to an underwriter. $14 a share now, 

today price 2.28

I call this weapon of mass destruction in capital.

2.28 

+0.07 (3.17%)

20130314  Real-time:   1:56PM EDT

NASDAQ real-time data - Disclaimer

Currency in USD

Range	2.16 - 2.29
52 week	1.51 - 3.89
Open	2.23
Vol / Avg.	152,882.00/763,506.00
Mkt cap	128.45M
P/E	-

Div/yield	-
EPS	-0.74
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Beta	2.36
Inst. own	26%

Seems to me that looking for a market for the technology is like trying to put a square peg in a round hole. Perhaps the tech is ahead of its time, but when you have to "find" markets that do not have the need, it is a recipe for negative returns