STTR Phase I: Handheld Open Source Photometer as enabling tool for Enzyme-based analytical chemistry

STTR 第一阶段：手持式开源光度计作为基于酶的分析化学的支持工具

• 批准号: 1417061
• 负责人: Wilbur Campbell
• 金额: $ 22.5万
• 依托单位: Nitrate Elimination Company, Inc
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-07-01 至 2015-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1417061&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: STTR; Phase; Handheld; Open; Source

The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is to make chemistry more accessible by developing a rugged, compact, LED-based photometer that communicates data to other devices via Bluetooth. The photometer and data processing functions will be designed to work with the company?s simplified test kits for Green Analytical Chemistry. The photometer will be sold at just above cost, estimated at $200, because it enhances the utility and value of company?s easy to use test kits. The business model is inkjet printer (the photometer), with test kits as the cartridges. The product development focuses on simplified test kits based on recombinant enzymes and no hazardous reagents. These kits enable unskilled operators to obtain actionable data. The initial target market is the Technical Service Providers who advise agricultural producers on fertilizer application decisions, giving them a new value-added service to offer. This project will produce a tool for enabling ?citizen science?. Technical tools in the hands of many people can benefit scientific understanding and stewardship of the environment. This Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) Phase I project integrates recombinant protein technology with advances in LED-based photonics and the power of portable computational devices. The company was founded in 1993 to commercialize its founder?s basic research into enzyme structure and function, concentrating on the plant enzyme Nitrate Reductase (NaR). It now develops and manufactures recombinant enzyme reagents and test kits for green analytical chemistry, replacing heavy metals and concentrated acids with environmentally benign proteins. The company?s AtNaR is now a US EPA alternative standard method for nitrate analysis. These simplified test kits are designed for onsite use by unskilled users. The new enzyme-based kit for measuring phosphate content in soils yields results in the UV (260 nm) and requires a photometer, but there is no suitable device on the market (assay volume is one milliliter). The customers in the agriculture sector need new technology for soil testing to optimize fertilizer applications, decrease wasting and damaging runoff while maintaining high yields. They need data that that is compatible with commercial agriculture software packages, including GPS location and sample identification. The photometer will read two wavelengths, 540nm for nitrate and 260nm for phosphate, send results in the users? preferred measurement unit.

该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是通过开发一种坚固、紧凑、基于 LED 的光度计（通过蓝牙将数据传输到其他设备），使化学变得更容易获得。 光度计和数据处理功能将设计为与该公司的绿色分析化学简化测试套件配合使用。 该光度计的售价略高于成本，估计为 200 美元，因为它提高了公司易于使用的测试套件的实用性和价值。 商业模式是喷墨打印机（光度计），以测试套件作为墨盒。 产品开发的重点是基于重组酶且无危险试剂的简化检测试剂盒。 这些套件使不熟练的操作员能够获得可操作的数据。最初的目标市场是技术服务提供商，他们为农业生产者提供施肥决策建议，为他们提供新的增值服务。 该项目将开发一个促进“公民科学”的工具。 许多人手中的技术工具可以有利于对环境的科学理解和管理。 这个小型企业技术转移研究 (STTR) 第一阶段项目将重组蛋白技术与基于 LED 的光子学的进步和便携式计算设备的功能相结合。 该公司成立于 1993 年，旨在将其创始人对酶结构和功能的基础研究商业化，重点研究植物酶硝酸还原酶 (NaR)。 它现在开发和生产用于绿色分析化学的重组酶试剂和测试套件，用环境友好的蛋白质替代重金属和浓酸。 该公司的 AtNaR 现已成为美国 EPA 硝酸盐分析的替代标准方法。 这些简化的测试套件专为非熟练用户现场使用而设计。 用于测量土壤中磷酸盐含量的新型酶基试剂盒产生紫外线（260 nm）结果，需要光度计，但市场上没有合适的设备（测定体积为一毫升）。 农业领域的客户需要新技术进行土壤测试，以优化肥料施用、减少浪费和破坏性径流，同时保持高产。 他们需要与商业农业软件包兼容的数据，包括 GPS 位置和样本识别。 光度计将读取两个波长，硝酸盐为 540nm，磷酸盐为 260nm，将结果发送给用户？首选测量单位。