The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $878,296 Cooperative Agreement to Surfplasma Inc., a minority-owned small business based in Gainesville, FL, to develop a rapid, low-temperature plasma prototype for disinfecting personal protective equipment (PPE), medical devices, food products and other materials from pathogens like COVID-19. The project, funded under NSF's Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (CFDA 47.084) program, aims to deliver a market-ready sterilization solution...
The National Science Foundation Division of Industrial Innovation awarded a $256,000 Project Grant to Avior Inc., doing business as Avior Bio, to develop a safe and effective copper nanoparticle suspension formulation for face mask applications against SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses. The grant period runs from July 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021 under the Engineering (47.041) federal grant program. Through this funding, Avior Bio will work to produce a nanoparticle formulation that can be...
The National Science Foundation awarded a $255,961 Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I Project Grant under the NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program (CFDA 47.084) to Rush River Research Corp. The grant aims to develop a low-cost, automated receptacle for rapid point-of-care sterilization of personal protective equipment, such as filtering facepiece respirators, for frontline healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the company will construct and...
The National Institute of Standards and Technology awarded Vuronyx Technologies LLC a $1,599,940.60 cooperative agreement under the Science, Technology, Business and/or Education Outreach program (CFDA 11.620) to develop acetylperoxyborate (APB) powders for disinfecting personal protective equipment. Vuronyx will perform efficacy testing of APB powders against viruses on test coupons and evaluate resulting byproducts and residues. It will also evaluate the structural integrity of N95 masks and...
This $256,000 National Science Foundation Project Grant under the Engineering (47.041) program will support the development of a permanent ceramic antimicrobial coating technology by Nanoionix, LLC. The goal is to synthesize and deposit a pure ceramic coating on relevant substrates that exceeds EPA requirements for generating reactive oxygen species to inactivate viruses and bacteria. Nanoionix will conduct spectroscopic assessments to rapidly evaluate the types and numbers of reactive oxygen...
This $249,999 National Science Foundation project grant supports the development of a bioengineered nanobarrier spray to protect against SARS-CoV-2 and other viral infections of the nasopharynx. Funded under the NSF Engineering program (CFDA 47.041), the two-year award to the University of Southern California will support computational modeling of nanobarrier delivery via nasal applicator as well as efficacy testing in a coronavirus mouse model. Specifically, the university researchers will...
This $300,000 federal Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP) program (CFDA 47.084) aims to improve workplace safety through the development of advanced personal protective equipment (PPE) for hazmat operators and first responders. The "Materials Advancement through a Precede-Proceed Framework for Safety" (MAPPS) project will leverage cutting-edge sensing technologies to create PPE that can detect and alert users...
Fathhome, Inc. received a $255,999 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation on February 15, 2021 to develop an ozone-based field sterilizer for rapid sterilization and reuse of N95 respirators and other personal protective equipment in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The work is being conducted under the NSF's Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program (CFDA 47.084), which seeks to advance science and engineering research and innovative solutions to national...
This $247,457 National Science Foundation project grant funded research on coupling COVID-19 respiratory droplet adsorption and photocatalysis through metal organic frameworks. The grant was awarded to Framergy Inc. on June 15, 2021 under the Engineering (47.041) federal grant program. The objective was to develop materials and techniques to capture and deactivate SARS-CoV-2 virus particles through the end date of November 30, 2021. The Engineering program seeks to improve quality of life and...
The National Science Foundation awarded the University of Illinois a $100,000 project grant under the NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program to develop an aerial virus detector system. The university will use the one-year award ending June 2023 to create a portable device that can directly detect airborne COVID-19 and other viral particles. The proposed technology integrates a COVID-reactive surface with a sensitive detection mechanism to identify the presence of a virus particle...
This $255,966 National Science Foundation Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships award to Nano-Product Engineering, LLC will support the development of an antiviral/antimicrobial micropowder for application to personal protective equipment and respiratory equipment surfaces. The award period is from September 15, 2022 through May 31, 2023.
The project aims to improve the protective properties of commonly used PPE and respiratory equipment, which typically only provides passive protection and can be difficult to decontaminate for reuse. The awardee will develop a prototype formulation of core-shell microparticles coated with proven biocidal materials like copper alloys. These high surface area particles are designed to better capture microorganisms while also adhering well to filter and equipment surfaces. If successful, the micropowder technology could enhance safety for healthcare workers and manufacturers by reducing cross-contamination and exposures during equipment use and handling.