Award Data

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In this small business technology transfer research (STTR) program, Omega Optics and the University of Texas at Austin propose to develop a planar lightwave circuit based surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectrometer for single molecule detection. The sensitivity of the SERS spectrometer comes from the 5-nm gap between gold nanowires, which can achieve ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Nonlinear optical microscopy techniques (such as two-photon florescence) are being used to acquire volumetric (i.e. three dimensional) images that probe several hundred microns into scattering tissue. These techniques are being combined with fast acquisition schemes to allow imaging of live, moving specimens at high NA. This combination allows for high-resoluti ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This multiphase STTR project will result in a standard method to evaluate the release of airborne particles from commercial products that contain engineered nanomaterials during their use or disposal. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are an important class of engineered nanomaterials that are incorporated into diverse products such as sporting goods, clothes, electronic ...

The Department of Defense (DoD) has a demand for out-of-production parts to maintain mission readiness of various weapons platforms. Additive manufacturing (AM) is an exciting and promising manufacturing technique that can make out-of-production parts and holds the potential to solve supply chain issues, such as high costs (i.e. for low-volume parts) and sole sourcing risks. The ability of AM to s ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Groundwater and soil contamination has been associated with higher incidence of birth defects and cancer. Monitored natural attenuation of contaminants via biodegradation has proven effective in lowering contaminant levels, but these processes depend critically on dissolved oxygen levels. This project proposes to develop a robust oxygen sensor compound with che ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Heart failure (HF) is a major health problem in the US and worldwide. Over 100,000 people in the US are diagnosed with end stage HF annually. Heart transplantation is performed in only 2% of these cases due to lack of available donor hearts. Mechanical left ventricular assist devices (LVADs, a type of artificial heart) can allow patients with severe HF to live ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Osteoarthritis (OA) is the leading cause of chronic disability in the United States. A clinical goal in the treatment and prevention of OA is to develop replacement cartilage using tissue engineering (TE) technologies. Although TE cartilage presently lacks the mechanical stability of native cartilage, studies have demonstrated that mechanical stability can be e ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Though not specifically FDA-approved for this indication, topiramate is among the most effective medication treatments for alcohol dependence. Topiramate is rarely used to treat alcohol dependence, however, because it has prominent side effects including somnolence, dizziness, and cognitive disturbances that require gradual dose titration. Many patients stop ta ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): There is an immediate and urgent clinical need to enhance the monitoring of the delivery and accuracy of targeted drug delivery, the onset and spread of cancers, and the longitudinal monitoring of cancer treatments. Nanotechnology holds the promise to address this problem. A smart particle capable of selective targeting would augment the physician's tools nee ...

Abstract Atrial fibrillationAFprevalence is estimated toof the general population in the United StatesA shockingtoaccording to studiesof patients with AF are unaware of their diagnosissilent AFMost AF patients will suffer from congestive heart failure or and develop thromboembolic events leading to a dramatic reduction of patientsquality of lifeand a significant consumption of health care resource ...