I originally came across the Lunatic when investigating Quanterix\u2019s flow cells<\/a>. Quanterix flow cells are manufactured by ex-Sony DVD processing unit Stratec<\/a>. Stratec also manufacture flow cells for the Lunatic<\/a>, a UV-Vis spectrophotometer made by Unchained Labs. And the name alone was enough to make me want to investigate further. Unchained was recently acquired for $435 million<\/a> by Carlyle. The company expects to generate $75M in 2021 and has 170 employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unchained have a large portfolio of instruments. None of which I\u2019ve ever heard of, it\u2019s fascinating to me that companies like this can find relatively healthy niches while I assume having a relatively small market share.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unchained has a storied history, having acquired Trinean, Freeslate, and AVIA Biosystems. They have a portfolio of products covering UV-Vis, scattering, Raman based particle identification, and lab automation. I get the general impression that their focus is on drug development, which might explain why I\u2019ve not heard of them\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this post, I wanted to delve into \u201cThe Lunatic\u201d a little. This is a UV-Vis spectrophotometer which they position against the Nanodrop.<\/p>\n\n\n\nA Brief History of UV-Vis for Nucleic Acid Quantification<\/h1>\n\n\n\n