Argonaut Announces Expansion of Senior Management Team.

Business Editors

FOSTER CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 22, 2001

Lissa Goldenstein Promoted to President and Chief Executive Officer

Michael Moore Joins Management as Senior Vice President, Chief

Operating Officer

Argonaut Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: AGNT) today announced the promotion of Lissa Goldenstein to president and chief executive officer and the addition of Michael Moore to its management team, as senior vice president and chief operating officer. David Binkley, Ph.D. will remain chairman of the board of directors.

Ms. Goldenstein joined Argonaut in January 1998. In April 2001, she was promoted to president and chief operating officer and elected to the board of directors. She also has served as Argonaut's senior vice president and chief business officer with responsibility for worldwide sales, support and marketing. Prior to joining Argonaut, Ms. Goldenstein was senior vice president with Molecular Simulations where she was responsible for global sales and marketing for the company's molecular modeling software.

"Lissa's strong track record, demonstrated leadership ability and clear strategic vision for Argonaut will make her an excellent chief executive officer," said Dr. Binkley. "With the addition of Michael Moore, we have strengthened our management team and broadened our ability to address the many opportunities facing us."

Mr. Moore has over 25 years experience in medical device and life science systems businesses. Prior to joining Argonaut, Mr. Moore was senior vice president and general manager of Nanogen, a manufacturer of molecular biology workstations and consumables. At Nanogen, he also served as senior vice president of operations. For four years, Mr. Moore was vice president and general manager of Hitachi Instruments, Inc., a provider of clinical and analytical instruments. He worked at Perkin Elmer for 19 years, where his last position was serving as the senior vice president and general manager of Perkin Elmer's Instrument Group.

"We are delighted to have Mike join Argonaut," stated Ms. Goldenstein. "He brings significant and relevant operating, marketing and product management experience that will immediately benefit Argonaut."

"Argonaut is solving important bottlenecks in the chemical development process. I am excited to be joining the company and helping to create a valuable enterprise," stated Mr. Moore.

Ms. Goldenstein began her career at McDonnell Douglas as a sales representative for CAD/ CAM technology and held several positions there including serving as the Director of Commercial Operations. She holds a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Pennsylvania State University and a California Civil Engineers License.

Mr. Moore served as president and chief operating officer of Fisher Imaging Corporation from 1986 to 1990. He has an MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business and a Bachelor of Science degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Argonaut Technologies

Argonaut Technologies, Inc. is a pioneer in the development of innovative products that speed and simplify how chemists discover and test new chemical entities. Our products enable chemists to increase their productivity, reduce their operating costs through automation and process simplification, achieve faster time-to-market for new products, and cost-effectively explore the increasing number of drug targets available for drug development. We provide solutions that are used in over 825 pharmaceutical, chemical and academic laboratories worldwide. Our instruments, software and consumables for parallel synthesis enable chemists to perform multiple experiments under a variety of conditions in a fraction of the time and cost of traditional methods.

Forward Looking Statements

Statements included in this press release that are not historical in nature may be "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Examples of such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the ability of Argonaut's products to enhance chemical development. Any such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and reflect Argonaut's judgment as of the date of this release. These and other risk factors are discussed in Argonaut's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2000 filed on April 2, 2001, as amended, in its most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2001 filed on August 13, 2001, and its other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Argonaut disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements. The Company claims the protection of the Safe Harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.