Award Data

There is a need to improve the understanding of physical and chemical processes involved in the evolution of chemical warfare agent (CWA) simulant aerosols and vapors that are interacting with combustion, deflagration, and detonation products. However, the measurement of aerosols and vapors is very challenging because of limited knowledge of the photophysics at varying temperatures and pressures, ...

Small multirotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are well suited for sensing and situational awareness missions in closed, confined, and constrained (C3) environments. However, autonomous navigation of small VTOL UAVs is very challenging in C3 environments. Current state of the art navigation methods uses vision and LIDAR to build a map, localize, and plan paths. These methods tend to be computati ...

We propose a novel two-dimensional mass spectrometry (2D-MS) technique based on ion trap arrays to identify illicit and designer drugs. This approach will give an unprecedented multiplex advantage for miniature mass spectrometry, allowing novice field technicians to rapidly identify drugs affecting the central nervous system based on both the m/z ratio and fragmentation pattern of an ion. Towards ...

Nerve agents exert their toxic effect by binding to and inactivating enzyme acetylcholinesterase, a key enzymatic regulator of cholinergic neurotransmission. The binding becomes irreversible after a varying amount of time with nerve agents and this aging process limits the treatment window of oxime reactivators. To enhance the current antidote treatment of nerve agent autoinjectors, a pyridostigmi ...

CMC Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Cleveland, OH) is proposing developing a stable, combination product of two small molecule drug candidates as a counter measure to chemical warfare nerve agents (NA). The combination product is expected to exploit complementary pharmacological profiles for optimal muscarinic receptor blockade and anticholinergic activity within the peripheral and central nervous system. ...

DNA microarray technology, in combination with statistical and predictive modeling tools, could be used to evaluate thousands of genes against distinct gene expression patterns induced by chemical/biological agents to provide early identification and speed therapeutic intervention. The overall objective of this Phase II effort is to leverage existing public domain resources and commercial tools t ...

Effective collective protection fabrics must have a reliable closure system. During our Phase I Work Plan, Sigma-K began developing a Hermetic Textile Closure Hardware (HATCH) system. The HATCH combines both a magnetic and geometric self locking mechanism that will provide a hermetic seal when closed. Our current Phase I successes include developing self closing samples that can provide a hermetic ...

Reactive warheads increase lethality by igniting propellants/fuels in targets, by melting and destroying electronic components, by providing substantial blast overpressure effects inside of the target after impact, and by providing heat energy to destroy potential biological and chemical payloads. Currently, the range of reactive material options is largely limited to Al-polymer composites, therm ...

Several new generation chemical and biological (CB) decontaminants are based on hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) chemistry. These new decontaminants have many desirable characteristics, including reactivity toward a broad spectrum of CB agents and toxins, as well as being less corrosive and more environmentally friendly than conventional decontaminating materials. However, these systems are still liquid b ...

The US Government has spent hundreds of millions of dollars developing decontamination capabilities to protect our military personnel and equipment from chemical warfare agents. With much of the traditional research and development efforts within focused on decontamination of chemical warfare (CW) agents, there has been a recent shift in the research base to include biological warfare (BW) agents ...