Project Grant 1843093

Coastaloceanvision Inc. was awarded a $300,000 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Project Grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to develop a novel surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) technology for rapidly detecting and quantifying human pathogens in seafood. The SERS technology uses a higher energy laser wavelength, an innovative mixture of silver-coated nanoparticles, and a fiber optic probe designed for direct use on seafood tissues and environmental...

This $1,016,000.00 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (CFDA 47.084) program will fund the development and application of a low-cost, portable biosensing platform for detecting and monitoring waterborne pathogens in aquaculture and coastal environments. The University of Massachusetts Lowell, as the prime awardee, will lead the effort to adapt its patented biosensing technology to enable real-time pathogen detection and...

This SBIR Phase I award from the National Science Foundation (CFDA 47.084 - NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships) provides $304,972 to Particle4X, Inc. to develop a real-time, inline sensor system that integrates digital inline holography and deep learning to detect particulate matter and microbial contaminants during injectable drug manufacturing. The system aims to enable continuous quality monitoring, supporting the industry's shift from batch to continuous manufacturing. Key...

The $150,000 Phase I Small Business Innovation Research Project Grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will fund the development of automated image detection and machine learning systems for aquaculture production by Radmantis LLC. The company aims to pioneer the use of edge computing devices integrated with computer vision and artificial intelligence to autonomously monitor fish farms for early disease detection and permit sorting and handling of fish by...

The Nucleic Sensing Systems LLC was awarded a $175,000 Project Grant from the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program / Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program (CFDA 10.212). Through this funding, Nucleic Sensing Systems will develop autonomous biosensing technologies to monitor threats from the spread of diseases and pathogens in aquaculture. Specifically, the company will complete...

Aquaculture System Technologies, L.L.C. (AST) received a $169,892 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Project Grant from the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture to develop "start-up" beads for fixed film biological reactors. The beads are designed to eliminate losses during the acclimation period by stimulating heterotrophic bacterial growth for 3-4 weeks without rapidly increasing dissolved biodegradable concentrations....

This Project Grant award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) / Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program (CFDA 10.212) provides $649,763 to Varigen Biosciences Corp to develop the AQPATHDX kit. This novel multiplex molecular diagnostic assay enables rapid, on-site detection of the most common catfish and tilapia pathogens in less than 30 minutes. The AQPATHDX kit utilizes...

This SBIR Phase I project, awarded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (CFDA 47.084) program, is developing a portable contaminant field screening device for the rapid measurement of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in water. The $305,000 award, granted on May 15, 2025, with an ultimate completion date of April 30, 2026, aims to address the urgent need for affordable, real-time detection of PFAS in environmental, industrial, and...

Applied Ocean Sciences, LLC received a $255,633 National Science Foundation SBIR Phase I Project Grant under the Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) to develop the first flow-through sensor for real-time microplastics measurements. The Engineering program seeks to improve quality of life and economic strength through engineering research and innovation. Under this December 2021 award concluding in November 2022, Applied Ocean Sciences will develop a flow-through sensor capable of directly...

Elder Research Inc. received a $149,992 Project Grant award from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration through the Small Business Innovation Research Program to develop HABssed, a portable, reliable, and low-cost pipeline for detecting harmful algal blooms in the field using third generation sequencing with the Oxford Nanopore Minion device. The company will demonstrate the efficacy of this approach by sequencing existing environmental DNA samples collected from Lake Erie before,...