Our Story
RotaPrep was founded in 2006, with the goal of bringing about a novel change in the world of sample preparation.
That spirit began years earlier. In the late 1990’s, Horacio Kido and Jim Norton were working at a pioneering startup, Burstein Technologies, developing a method to transform a CD-ROM drive into a precision microscope for medical diagnostics. The technology developed was remarkable. The experience gained by Horacio and Jim was quite valuable, and provided a solid stepping stone for the future.
Making a Technology Have Value
As that venture concluded, Horacio and Jim turned their attention toward practical applications of their expertise in microfluidics. Looking at where the technology developed might have some real application in the marketplace, they focused on the world of water analysis, which, at the time, still relied on manual colorimetric testing with cuvettes and test strips.
Applying microfluidic design principles, they created a fully automated water-testing platform, a breakthrough that became the foundation of the LaMotte Spin Touch® system. Today, this innovation is used by pool professionals and laboratories around the world, fundamentally transforming water testing through speed, accuracy, and simplicity.
The Origins of RotaPrep
During this same era, Horacio began exploring a new area of interest in DNA extraction. By rethinking traditional workflows, he developed a concept for a machine that could lyse samples and extract DNA in a single five-minute process eliminating multiple steps and human handling.
Recognizing the potential of this breakthrough, Horacio and Jim founded RotaPrep to develop and commercialize the technology.
Helping to Build the Lysing Industry
RotaPrep’s deep engineering capability soon attracted attention from MP Biomedicals, where Horacio and Jim collaborated closely with Mickey Micic during the early development of the FastPrep®-24, a product that went on to define the global standard in sample-lysis technology.
RotaPrep subsequently designed and produced the entire suite of FastPrep adapters still used across MP Biomedicals’ lysing product line, a contribution that has quietly powered research laboratories for nearly two decades.
In 2010, MP Biomedicals turned again to RotaPrep to design and manufacture the first production FastPrep-96 machines, enabling high-throughput plate lysing. From the FastPrep-24 to the 24 5G and 96-well formats, RotaPrep’s engineering has been at the core of MP Biomedicals’ lysing portfolio through 2024.
Where Innovation Meets Experience
Although RotaPrep has operated largely as an OEM manufacturer for other brands for much of its history, our contributions have shaped the very foundation of the lysing industry. With Mickey Micic now part of the RotaPrep team, the innovators who helped define modern lysing are united once again under one roof, bringing a wealth of experience, engineering depth, and forward-thinking design to a new generation of instruments.
Leadership Team
Dr. Horacio Kido,
President and CEO
Dr. Horacio Kido holds a Ph.D. in Agricultural and Environmental Chemistry from UC Davis, an M.S. in Biology from Stanford University, and a B.S. in Biological Sciences from Stanford University.
Before founding RotaPrep, Dr. Kido served as a Research Specialist at UC Irvine, where he developed expertise in microfluidics and advanced point of care diagnostics. His deep understanding of both the scientific challenges facing researchers and the technical solutions needed to address them has been instrumental in developing HyperLysis technology.
Dr. Kido's passion to innovate has positioned RotaPrep as a leader in ultrafast sample preparation systems. Horacios publications has over 1,800 citations and he is an inventor named on 32 patents.
James R. Norton,
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Jim Norton serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, bringing extensive business development and operational expertise to RotaPrep. He as a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Kansas State University.
Jim also has a passion for innovation, with his first mark on the world coming in the late 1980s. While working at Schlumberger Well services, Jim invented the cable tension monitor device that has since been used on all Schlumberger field services trucks worldwide.
In the 1990s, Jim cofounded CD Associates, which became the standard for the CD industry for the quality control of the manufacturing of compact discs.
With a number of other ventures over the years, Jim has gained considerable experience in the design and manufacture of building quality equipment.
Jim has been an inventor on over a dozen patents.
Dr. Miodrag Micic,
Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer
Dr. Miodrag Micic serves as Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, bringing remarkable academic and industry expertise to RotaPrep's strategic direction. He holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Miami, an M.T.M. from Washington State University, and a Sc.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of Belgrade.
Currently a Professor and Department Chair of Engineering Design Technology at Cerritos College, Dr. Micic combines deep scientific knowledge with extensive marketing experience gained from leadership roles at prominent life sciences companies. His research interests in medical devices, life science instrumentation, and microelectromechanical systems align perfectly with RotaPrep's innovative approach.
As an inventor with four issued US patents currently in production and author of over 70 scientific publications with more than 3,200 citations, Dr. Micic brings both scientific credibility and market insight to RotaPrep's growth strategy.