SBIR Phase II: Nanomaterial for Microchip Chemical Sensors

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II Project will develop a novel microchip chemical analyzer that incorporates a new nanomaterial that performs both separation and detection of small quantities of chemicals and biochemicals. Phase I demonstrated feasibility by incorporating a proprietary nanomaterial in 20- by 50-micron channels etched in a glass microchip and performing chemical separation and surface-enhanced Raman spectral analysis of several test chemicals. Phase II will complete development of the microchip chemical analyzer by designing reproducible plastic microchip cards that fit into an integrated micro-fluidics and Raman system. Development will include the following chemicals: p-aminobenzoic acid, phenyl acetylene, adenine, acetaminophen, secobarbitol, cocaine, and related metabolites. The microchip analyzer will have broad commercial value to the agricultural, biotech, chemical agents, environmental, medical and pharmaceutical industries. Specifically, the microchip is being designed to measure drugs and metabolites in body fluids to aid clinical trials of new drugs, assist dosage control of chemotherapeutic drugs, and diagnose drug overdose.