The fluorescent-lit lab smelled faintly of burnt solder and stale coffee, telltale markers of sleepless nights and relentless ambition. It was 2017, and Dr. Tim Craggs stood shoulder-to-shoulder with two undergraduate students in a makeshift workshop at the University of Sheffield. With their hands steadied over a cluttered workbench, they tinkered with what could generously be called a prototype.
Wires sprawled like spaghetti, and a laptop wheezed under the weight of homemade software. The stakes were both mundane and monumental: the team was building a device that would allow them to see and analyze individual molecules. “We started with nothing but necessity,” Dr. Tim said, his fingers tracing his beard with gentle fondness as he recounts those early days. “The work I do is all about detecting one molecule at a time, but the instruments that could do that were impossibly expensive. So, we built our own.”
That self-made machine, cobbled together on a limited university grant, and was far from perfect. But it worked. Dubbed Version 0.1, the prototype was the genesis of what would eventually become the EI-FLEX—a sleek, user-friendly device designed to democratize molecular detection. The stakes went beyond academic success; the technology promised to transform healthcare and diagnostics, allowing researchers to detect the faintest molecular whispers of diseases like cancer and Parkinson’s long before symptoms emerged. Dr. Tim’s frustration was born from a stark reality. “Unlike in the U.S., where you might be given a million or two to start a lab, here in the UK, you’re expected to stretch a far smaller budget into something meaningful,” he explained. “And the instrument I needed simply wasn’t within reach.”
The science at stake was profound. Biomolecules—proteins, DNA, RNA—exist in different shapes, or conformations, that dictate how they function. Traditional methods could only measure these molecules in bulk, offering an averaged view. It was as if someone took a portrait and blurred it until individual faces were no longer visible. “You’d get this answer, an average shape, that was completely wrong,” Dr. Tim said. “None of your molecules were actually in that shape. Half might be open; half might be closed. You were missing the real picture.”
Single-molecule detection changes the game. It allows researchers to observe each molecule individually, detecting not just its presence but its shape, movement, and interactions—all with extraordinary precision.
And precision matters. Dr. Tim paints a vivid picture: “Imagine detecting the first marker of cancer rather than waiting for a stage-three tumor. Or catching the very first aggregation of proteins in dementia before plaques form in the brain.”
The birth of exciting instruments
The leap from homemade prototype to commercial product required more than scientific ingenuity. It demanded unrelenting determination and a willingness to take risks. “We bootstrapped the entire operation,” Dr. Tim said. “The money was guaranteed against my co-founder’s house and mine. It was very, very stressful.”
At the outset, Dr. Tim and his team collaborated with Bulldozer, a Yorkshire-based venture builder. “Their approach of selling something before you build it was essential to how we bootstrapped. We learned a lot from their confidence and drive,” Dr. Tim recalled, reflecting on the early days when he first met his co-founder, Robert Bell, whose business acumen he deeply admired.
Dr. Tim also highlighted the crucial support his team received from the University of Sheffield—financially, through grants and loans, and in navigating the repayment process via revenue and investment. “We couldn’t have achieved this without the talented individuals we worked with and the backing of Sheffield’s vibrant community,” he noted. “They say it takes a village to raise a child, but I’d say it takes a city to raise a startup.”
By 2021, the team had spun out Exciting Instruments from the university. The company faced a daunting challenge: not only did they have to refine their machine, but they also had to build a sales pipeline, develop software, and convince skeptical investors and researchers alike that their device could deliver.
“We had to do everything in parallel,” Dr. Tim said. “Develop the instrument, the company, and the market—all at once.”
The key to their early success lay in his team and the credibility Dr. Tim had built over two decades as a molecular biophysicist. Researchers trusted his work and were willing to test his instrument in their labs. Still, proving the EI-FLEX’s reliability wasn’t easy.
“They’d send us blind samples—tests where they already knew the answer but didn’t tell us,” Dr. Tim recounted. “Every time, the instrument performed. One customer even fell off their chair when they saw the results. We reproduced their data down to multiple decimal places.”
Democratizing discovery
The EI-FLEX is not only a scientific tool; it’s a key to unlocking the potential of molecular biology for more labs than ever before. The instrument combines cutting-edge sensitivity with simplicity. Its user-friendly software means that even non-specialists can generate publication-quality data.
“One of our customers had a second-year undergraduate summer student working on the EI-FLEX,” Dr. Tim shared. “After just a week of training, we were confident enough in the student—and the machine—to let them demonstrate it to potential investors.”
The EI-FLEX is designed to detect two-color single-molecule fluorescence in solution, making sophisticated techniques like smFRET (single-molecule Förster Resonance Energy Transfer) and FCS (Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy) available without the need for traditional, cumbersome setups such as optical tables or dark rooms. By simplifying the process, the EI-FLEX empowers researchers to delve into the intricacies of protein conformations and bimolecular interactions with unparalleled ease.What sets this innovation apart is its versatility and user-friendly approach. The system’s real-time data analysis and visualization capabilities ensure that insights are not just gathered but immediately understood.
Coupled with intuitive software, even newcomers to single-molecule experiments can generate publication-quality results with minimal learning curve, while seasoned experts can harness its precision for advanced investigations.
Beyond research, the EI-FLEX holds transformative potential for healthcare and diagnostics. Its sensitivity allows scientists to detect diseases at their molecular inception—when intervention is most effective.
“The first molecule of a cancer biomarker or the earliest aggregation of proteins in dementia—imagine detecting those before any symptoms appear,” Dr. Tim said. “That’s the power of this technology.”
Exciting Instruments is already working with pharmaceutical companies to use the EI-FLEX for drug screening. The machine’s precision can reveal how individual drug molecules interact with their targets, speeding up the discovery process and reducing costs.
Our team’s deep expertise and passion have been instrumental in achieving remarkable early traction across the US and Europe, commented Rob Bell Exciting Instruments co-founder . But the vision doesn’t stop there. Dr. Tim imagines a world where devices like the EI-FLEX are used in clinics for early diagnostics. “Routine checkups could include molecular-level screenings,” he said. “We could transform how we approach diseases, shifting from reactive treatments to proactive prevention.”
As Exciting Instruments develops, the road ahead is both exciting and uncertain. The company recently secured £4 million in seed funding led by Northern Gritstone with support from Empirical Ventures, NPIF II – Praetura Ventures, and renowned entrepreneurs including Stan Boland and Jonathan Milner, a milestone that Dr. Tim says it will usher in a new era where single-molecule insights become the foundation for breakthroughs that will redefine what’s possible in human health.
As our conversation drew to a close, Dr. Tim offered a reflection that encapsulated his mission. “An idea is just that—an idea,” he said. “The real work is turning it into something scalable, something that solves real problems.” With the EI-FLEX, Dr. Tim and his team have done just that. From a modest lab in Sheffield, his team has built a tool that’s not just a machine, but a harbinger of a new era in molecular science—one where diseases are caught earlier, treatments are more effective, and discovery is no longer the privilege of a few but the pursuit of many.
