The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $650,000 Project Grant under the NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (CFDA 47.084) program to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to develop a suite of portable, quantum-enhanced sensors for detecting and identifying bioaerosols. The project aims to advance the technology readiness level of sensor technologies targeting bioaerosols, which directly impact human, animal, plant, and climate health. The key products to be...
This $448,818 federal Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) aims to develop a miniaturized, sensitive, and user-friendly electromagnetic sensing platform to enable rapid detection of bacterial infections. The key products and services to be delivered under this 5-year award include: Development of ultrasensitive biosensing electronics using high-quality-factor resonators and circuit techniques to overcome traditional noise-power...
The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $242,687 CAREER program grant (CFDA 47.041 - Engineering) to the University of Massachusetts to develop an ultrasensitive multiplex nanopore biosensing technology for point-of-care detection of infectious diseases. The key objectives are to: (1) develop a highly sensitive, robust, and reproducible nanopore biosensor; (2) enable sensitive and specific biomarker detection through automated immunoprecipitation and novel signal transduction; and (3)...
The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $650,000 project grant under the NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program (CFDA 47.084) to the University of Nevada, Reno to establish a point-of-care (POC) platform technology using smartphone-based time-resolved luminescence imaging and detection (STRIDE) enabled by manganese-doped semiconductor nanocrystals and artificial intelligence. This 1-year project will: (1) further develop the photophysics and optical properties of the...
This National Science Foundation (NSF) Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (CFDA 47.084) Project Grant award of $275,000 to Quarksen LLC provides funding to develop an affordable, point-of-care diagnostic device for detecting viral and non-viral sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, HIV, hepatitis C, and trichomoniasis. The project aims to create a device with an array of sensors that can rapidly and accurately detect STI biomarkers from cervical...
This National Science Foundation Project Grant of $180,493 will support the development of an ultrasensitive point-of-care diagnostic system using clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) technology for early disease detection without pre-amplification of viral genomes. Funded under the NSF's Office of Integrative Activities program (CFDA 47.083), which enhances STEM competitiveness through capacity building and broadening participation, this 24-month project will...
The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $305,000 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Project Grant under the NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP) program (CFDA 47.084) to Quantum Metrology LLC, a limited liability company located in Portland, Oregon. The project aims to develop an advanced, non-destructive, in-line inspection technology that leverages quantum sensing techniques to detect hidden defects in semiconductor chips during the manufacturing process....
The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $275,000 Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I grant to Zenoleap LLC on April 1, 2024. The grant funding is to develop a functional prototype for a novel quantum dots/graphene nanohybrid X-ray array detection platform for use in medical diagnostic capital equipment. The project aims to design, fabricate, and test a sensitive X-ray imaging system leveraging recent advancements in quantum dots and graphene technology. The goal is to...
This Project Grant award of $1,634,839 from the National Science Foundation's Mathematical and Physical Sciences program (CFDA 47.049) aims to revolutionize live-cell imaging through the development of nanodiamond quantum sensors. The project, titled "QUSEC-TAQS: Nanodiamond Quantum Sensing for Four-Dimensional Live-Cell Imaging," will integrate nanodiamond quantum sensors with advanced light-sheet microscopy techniques to capture unprecedented 4D (3D spatial and temporal) insights...
This $399,935 National Science Foundation (NSF) Project Grant Award under the Computer and Information Science and Engineering program (CFDA 47.070) aims to develop a portable and cost-effective biomedical diagnostic system in the form of an integrated lab-on-a-chip platform produced using additive manufacturing techniques. The key products and services to be delivered include: Advancing 3D manufacturing techniques, particularly in electrode printing, to enhance fabrication precision and...
The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $2,000,000 Cooperative Agreement under the NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (CFDA 47.084) program to the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education, operating through the University of Nevada, Reno. The award supports the development and commercialization of an advanced quantum-dot sensor system for the rapid, cost-effective detection of tuberculosis, a highly infectious bacterial disease. The project aims to enhance public health by improving tuberculosis testing capabilities, especially in low-resource settings. The sensor system combines a lateral flow assay, high-affinity antibodies, and a time-resolved luminescence reader to significantly increase the sensitivity of tuberculosis detection. The award period runs from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2028, and involves sub-awards to industry partners InBios and C2Sense, as well as academic institutions including the University of Illinois Chicago, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and Duke University.