Solgene: In silica cells

Edward Pope, chairman and CEO, said his idea for the company began with his background in engineering and materials science, specifically with his knowledge of the field of solution gelation. "Sol-gel" processing, he said, has been successfully commercialized as coatings to tint sheet glass, in the production of abrasive materials and in fine ceramic powders for use in electrical ceramics.

But Pope noticed that "one of the things sol-gel does best" is to form a gel, a porous matrix, at room temperature and at relatively mild pH. These characteristics struck Pope as biologically compatible, and the next question he asked was whether a composite material, comprised of a living component and an inorganic component, could be made...