Federal Grant Award Summary

Nefer Ka LLC received a $311,380 Project Grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) under the Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279), effective July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. The award supports the development of an economical, portable illicit drug detection system utilizing Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) technology for use in bodily fluid analysis. The project delivers two primary technical innovations: (1) cost-reduced SERS consumable substrates leveraging Nefer Ka's scalable production techniques, which provide enhanced fluorescence quenching to improve signal-to-noise ratio and overall system sensitivity, and (2) investigation and development of a portable Raman spectrometer based on Vertical Waveguide Arrays (VWA) diffraction grating technology that offers improved stability, higher spectral resolution, reduced cost, and programmable grating capability to enable artificial intelligence-controlled data collection.

This project addresses a critical gap in drug detection capabilities by providing a target-agnostic approach that can be rapidly adapted to detect novel illicit drugs through electronic protocol distribution, overcoming limitations of conventional testing strips and reducing barriers to deployment compared to centralized laboratory-based instruments. The work is conducted at the awardee's location in Newton, Massachusetts.