SBIR Phase I: Tagging and Authentication Technology for Vaccines (COVID-19)

The broader impact /commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is the development of a state-of-the-art, counterfeit-proof security technology to enable vaccine manufacturers to tag, track, and authenticate vaccine products throughout the supply chain. The tagging process will be amenable to its integration into a scalable glass vial manufacturing process. Digital information such as product, lot number, expiry, etc. may be embedded into the tags, if desired. In light of the current global COVID-19 pandemic, security and authentication of vaccine dosages throughout the supply chain represents a significant public health and global logistics challenge. Industry concerns over vaccine theft and counterfeit products drive the market need for an effective ID security technology that enable manufacturers to authenticate vaccines in a safe, covert, and efficient manner. The tagging process developed in this program will add minimal expenses to the manufacturing cost of each vaccine dosage form, at an estimated cost of pennies per dose. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will require the completion of several tasks, including: 1) the computational design of the taggant patterns, 2) the development of a scalable tagging process, 3) the development of instrumentation and associated software for tag authentication, and 4) the encryption of tags with digital information such as lot number, expiry, manufacturing location, or any other desired product information. In summary, the specific design parameters of the tag will be elucidated and optimized during this Phase I effort. The design parameters will subsequently be demonstrated on flat glass and glass vaccine vial prototypes using a scalable process. Finally, newly developed “reading” instrumentation will be used to authenticate the tagged glass prototypes, demonstrating the overall utility of this anti-counterfeit technology. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.