Award Data

Current drug discovery and development efforts are severely limited by expensive animal trials and oversimplified in vitro models. Results obtained from in vitro models are not predictive of in vivo toxicity owing to significant difference from the in vivo physiological conditions. In this context, we propose to develop and demonstrate a novel microfluidic device that reproduces the physiological ...

Military respirator masks provide the Warfighter with life critical protection against chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) threats. To ensure the safety, comfort, and effectiveness of the American Warfighter, it is essential that every Warfighter be assigned a respirator that is properly sized and fitted. However, current methods for sizing and fitting respirators depend on manu ...

The development of carbon-based nano-additive bound polymers with enhanced adsorption capacity and reactivity for the neutralization of chemical and biological warfare agents could cause substantial saving of life during CBWA threats. In the Phase I pr

information) During Phase I the Torch Technologies developed, demonstrated, and assessed the feasibility of an innovative, real-time multi-layered CW sensor data fusion network capability supporting advanced standoff detection and early warning against CB threats. Torch merged two significant technologies that we developed for the Department of Defense: 1) the ACRES CW multi-sensor data fusion t ...

Electro-optical infrared and long wavelength infrared detectors and sensors are increasingly important for the Chemical/Biological Defense community. Solid-state optical cooler materials are in demand for replacing mechanical closed cycle coolers used in current LWIR standoff sensors to achieve cryogenic temperatures. Recent advances in optical cooling of rare-earth doped materials are pointing to ...

Physical Sciences Inc. will develop a Tomographic Digital Holographic Microscope with integrated Infrared spectromicroscopy (T-DHM/IR) to enable time resolved correlation of chemical and 3D structural properties of biological warfare agents (BWAs), microorganisms and infected human tissue. The T-DHM/IR uses a precision hexapod stage and a custom reflective microscope objective with NA = 0.83 to pe ...

Spectral Sciences Inc. proposes to develop a sensor for real-time trace-level analysis of complex multicomponent gas mixtures containing Chemical Weapon (CW) agents and interferents. The approach is based on the combination of a digitally controlled widely tunable quantum cascade laser source and an advanced photoacoustic signal transducer. In Phase I, Spectral Sciences Inc. has demonstrated the ...

OPTRA proposes the development of a high speed resonant Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer for surface contaminant detection via thermal luminescence. The system will generate 10,000 spectra per second over the 7-14 m spectral range at 8 cm-1 spectral resolution; the NESR is projected at 4×10-9 W/(cm2•ster•cm-1) over a 100 s integration time. The key to the system is a res ...

During Phase I of this program, Sensera, Inc. developed filters for the JCAD and LCAD detection systems that allow more efficient passage of nerve agents. Sensera's filters are superior to PTFE in that they allow improved permeation of nerve agents by as

Longwave infrared (LWIR, 8-12µm) focal plane arrays (FPAs) play an important role in hyperspectral chemical and biological (CB) sensing and spectral imaging. Existing thermal detectors are unable to meet the high sensitivity and fast response requirements of many hyperspectral chemical and biological sensing applications. FPAs based on photon excited electron generation process can fulfill the sp ...