Inside a cramped back room at Rushford Hypersonic, a start-up headquartered in southeastern Minnesota, sits a cube-like machine that throws a mean atomic fastball.

At the push of a button, the reactor hurls atoms toward a substrate material at eight times faster than the speed of sound.

The result is a coating that significantly strengthens industrial tools such as knives and drill bits. Rushford's technology, licensed from the University of Minnesota, is just one example of how local companies, from corporate giants such as Medtronic Inc. and Seagate Technology to start-ups like Rushford, Vixar Inc., and BioCee Inc., are embracing nanotechnology…

Rushford Hypersonic makes coatings that can strengthen industrial tools like drill bits and knives. It’s also partnering with Mayo Clinic to develop coatings for knee implants.

Star Tribune by Thomas Lee, 11/1/09

Tags: Business Relations, Nanotechnology, Rushford Hypersonic