Molecular Instruments

Molecular Instruments is a private biotechnology company founded in 2015, commercializing its proprietary HCR™ signal amplification technology for multiplex spatial biology. The platform enables simultaneous, quantitative imaging of up to 10 RNA and protein targets in intact tissues with a simple, isothermal, enzyme-free protocol, addressing key limitations in traditional in situ hybridization and immunofluorescence. With products like HCR™ Gold and HCR™ Pro, the company targets the rapidly growing markets for spatial transcriptomics, proteomics, and advanced pathology, serving both research and diagnostic applications. Leadership includes founders with deep technical expertise from Caltech, where the core technology was invented.

HCR™ (Hybridization Chain Reaction) - a conditional nucleic acid self-assembly method enabling multiplex, quantitative, isothermal, enzyme-free signal amplification for RNA and protein imaging in intact tissues.

Competes in the spatial biology market against companies like 10x Genomics (Visium, Xenium), Akoya Biosciences (PhenoCycler, PhenoImager), NanoString (GeoMx, CosMx), and Vizgen. Its differentiation lies in a simple, isothermal, enzyme-free protocol for simultaneous RNA/protein detection and the ability to use standard primary antibodies for high-plex protein imaging.