Moires Instruments, LLC
Moires Instruments, LLC
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We seek to develop microtechnology-enabled devices to control molecules and their interactions

About Us

Moires Instruments, Inc. is a North Carolina based startup that was founded in 2021 as a spinout from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. The company's vision is to become a leading provider of technology that enables precise control of polar molecules and their interactions. Our first product is will be a new type of instrument, we call a Mass Starkometer™.  As a new platform technology, we envision its initial purpose as instrument to detect and identify isomers much faster and easier than is currently possible with traditional techniques such as MS-HPLC methods.  

Advanced Instrument for Detecting Molecular Isomers and Conformers

Moires Instruments, Inc. has been funded by the National Science Foundation to advance our core Stark Microchip Technology™ in order to more readily and rapidly detect, identify, and characterize chemical isomers and their different conformational forms. 

Advanced Instrument for Detecting Isomers

Moires Instruments has been funded by the National Science Foundation to advance our core Stark Microchip Technology™ in order to more readily and rapidly detect, identify, and characterize chemical isomers and their different conformational forms. 

Stark Microchip Technology™

We develop various topologies of microstructured electrodes and high electric fields to manipulate and distinguish molecules. Molecules may be pushed or pulled by the fields depending on their orientations in the field and the magnitude of their polarity (“dipole moment”) which, in turn, is highly sensitive to the molecule’s 3D shape. 

Every Molecules is a Piece of Work™

Since molecular isomers weigh the same, their identification via mass spectrometry is complicated and typically requires time-consuming “method development” work. Our instrument, on the other hand, reduces this work by using dipole moments to distinguish all isomers and their conformers in a single spectrum, resulting in 2-to-3 orders of magnitude higher isomer/conformer discrimination capabilities.

Focus Markets

Supported By

Our Team

Liam M. Duffy, Ph.D

Demitri Balabanov, Ph.D

Liam M. Duffy, Ph.D

Founder & CTO


David Koester

Demitri Balabanov, Ph.D

Liam M. Duffy, Ph.D

VP of Operations

Demitri Balabanov, Ph.D

Demitri Balabanov, Ph.D

Demitri Balabanov, Ph.D

VP of Product Development

Frequently Asked Questions

Please reach us at lmduffy@moiresinstruments.com if you cannot find an answer to your question.

Yes!  See US Patent No. 12,046,388 B2.


Our Stark Microchip Technology™ is a platform technology that can be applied to various scenarios that can benefit from a precise (quantum-state level) control of neutral molecules. For example, quantum computing, quantum superchemistry, precise chemical reactions, drug discovery & verification, etc. 


Yes - we'd be happy to connect and explore your needs and how we may best leverage our expertise to help you. In general, we can help with the design and manufacturing of the device. 


Certainly! We are always on a lookout for opportunity to integrate our technology with others to unlock new capabilities or enhance existing ones. Send us an email or get in touch with Liam, Dave, or Demitri.


Yes! But please note that we look for investors that have substantial experience with "hardware" businesses rather than software businesses. Of course, many modern technologies are based on combination of both but we find that there is a difference in approach and expectations between VCs that invest in hardware and those that invest in software. We align better with the former. 


News & Updates

Research Presented at SERMACS - 2023

Moires Instruments Completes "Beat-the-Odds Boot Camp"

Moires Instruments Completes "Beat-the-Odds Boot Camp"

Our research has been presented at the 2023 Southeast Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society (SERMACS) in Durham, North Carolina. 

Moires Instruments Completes "Beat-the-Odds Boot Camp"

Moires Instruments Completes "Beat-the-Odds Boot Camp"

Moires Instruments Completes "Beat-the-Odds Boot Camp"

The NSF SBIR “Beat-the-Odds Boot Camp” provides Phase I awardees with entrepreneurial training designed for early-stage companies that draws on the methods and customer discovery curriculum used in the NSF I-Corps™ Program.

Mentioned in the News

Moires Instruments Completes "Beat-the-Odds Boot Camp"

Moires Instruments Receives OneNC Grant

Scores of NC companies land state grants up to $75,000 linked to federal awards – here’s the list - by WRAL TechWire

Moires Instruments Receives OneNC Grant

Research Presented at 69th ASMS Conference

Moires Instruments Receives OneNC Grant

The North Carolina Board of Science,

Technology & Innovation, has awarded $75,000 to Moires Instruments to further develop their innovative technology.

Moires Instruments Receives NSF Grant

Research Presented at 69th ASMS Conference

Research Presented at 69th ASMS Conference

National Science Foundation awarded US$256,000 to Moires Instruments as part of Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program for "A Radio Frequency Quadrupole Stark Decelerator to Identify Isomers and Conformers and Measure their Effective Dipole Moments"

Research Presented at 69th ASMS Conference

Research Presented at 69th ASMS Conference

Research Presented at 69th ASMS Conference

Our research has been presented at the annual American Society for Mass Spectrometry Conference. 

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