Novel Delivery Systems for Threat Detection

Organic optical brighteners function by absorbing UV wavelengths and fluorescing visible light. When wavelengths of the entire visible spectrum are emitted, white light is the resultant color. Specific organic optical brighteners have been used inlimited military applications.Some biological compounds will also fluoresce when interrogated by UV sources. More specifically , materials such as porphyrin-based chromophores, when interrogated by a 355 nm wavelength source, such as a UV laser, will flouresce at a specificwavelength. This wavelength can then be readily discerned with night vision goggles, if observed at close distance, or can also be observed by a color camera at distances up to 2 kilometers.The unique wavelength properties of selective chromophores make them excellent candidates for detection systems. Such detection systems could be utilized by U.S. forces for area denial,, friend/foe identification badges and environmental obscurants.However, the biologically active materials also possess inherent instability properties and are degraded by oxygen, water, sunlight and heat. The present SBIR program proposes to stabilize the chromophores using proprietary delivery system technologies sothat the cited military applications can be effectively developed. Security Equipment, Product Tampering Indicater, Intrusion Detection, Personnel Security