HJ SCIENCE&TECHNOLOGY, INC. PROPOSES TO DEMONSTRATE THE FEASIBILITY OF AN INTEGRATED "LAB-ON-A-CHIP" TECHNO…

Public award description

HJ SCIENCE&TECHNOLOGY, INC. PROPOSES TO DEMONSTRATE THE FEASIBILITY OF AN INTEGRATED "LAB-ON-A-CHIP" TECHNOLOGY CAPABLE OF IN-SITU, HIGH THROUGHPUT, AND REAL TIME IDENTIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF A VARIETY OF TOXIC METALS, ORGANICS, AND BACTERIA BIOMARKERS IN SPACECRAFT WATER SUPPLIES ONBOARD THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION. THE NOVEL TECHNOLOGY COMBINES AUTOMATED PROGRAMMABLE ON-CHIP SAMPLE PROCESSING TECHNOLOGY, MICROCHIP CAPILLARY ELECTROPHORESIS, AND LASER INDUCED FLUORESCENCE DETECTION IN A MINIATURIZED FORMAT. IN TERMS OF SPACECRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING, THE IN SITU MEASUREMENT CAPABILITY OF OUR PORTABLE PLATFORM OFFERS IMPORTANT ADVANTAGES INCLUDING REDUCTION IN TIME AND COST, REAL-TIME DATA FOR BETTER AND MORE TIMELY DECISION MAKING, AND REDUCTION IN SAMPLE CONSUMPTION. IN ADDITION TO THE UNPRECEDENTED SENSITIVITY, EFFICIENCY, SELECTIVITY, AND THROUGHPUT COMPARED WITH THE CURRENT STATE-OF-THE-ART TECHNOLOGIES, THE PROPOSED MINIATURE INSTRUMENT ALSO MEETS THE STRINGENT SPACE-FLIGHT REQUIREMENTS INCLUDING SMALL CONSUMPTION OF SAMPLE AND REAGENT , LOW-MASS, LOW POWER CONSUMPTION, RAPID ANALYSIS TIME, AND MICROGRAVITY COMPATIBILITY. IN PHASE I, WE WILL ESTABLISH THE TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY OF THE TECHNOLOGY BY ANALYZING FLUORESCENTLY LABELED KETONES AND ALDEHYDES AS A PROOF OF PRINCIPLE DEMONSTRATION. IN PHASE II, THE MAIN FOCUS WILL DIRECT TOWARDS THE DEVELOPMENT OF A MINIATURIZED PROTOTYPE TO BE DELIVERED TO NASA BY INCORPORATING THE MOST PROMISING DESIGN BASED ON THE RESULTS OF PHASE I AS WELL INCLUDING ADDITIONAL DETECTION MODULES IN ORDER TO EXTEND THE MEASUREMENT AND ANALYSIS CAPABILITY TO OTHER CONTAMINANTS RELEVANT TO SPACECRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING.