BioControl Systems, Inc. has acquired the PickPen® business unit from, BioNobile Oy, located in Turku, Finland. The acquisition encompasses all tangible and intangible assets of the PickPen business including all intellectual property.

The PickPen business centers around a series of devices designed to transfer magnetic particles providing speed and flexibility in a wide variety of biological separation and purification applications. “We immediately recognized the PickPen´s significant advantages in speed, ease of use and improved particle recovery when we incorporated it into the sample preparation procedures for the Assurance GDS™ pathogen detection system” says Phil Feldsine, BioControl Systems CEO. “The acquisition of the PickPen technology is an excellent compliment to our existing core competencies in the area of rapid antibody and molecular based diagnostic kit development for the food and beverage industries” explains Feldsine.


Unlike conventional magnetic purification systems that work by immobilizing the magnetic particles and removing the surrounding liquid, the PickPen removes particles directly from the liquid. The particles can thus be moved rapidly and effortlessly from one stage of the purification to the next. Additionally, introduction of the magnets directly into the sample solution allows for greater particle recovery and improved target isolation.