Project Grant R43ES030650

This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) will support research by the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) to systematically evaluate the hormesis responses of phytoplankton species to engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) and assess the implications for environmental risk assessment. The $344,432 award, with a project period from December 1, 2024 to November 30, 2027, aims to address a significant gap in nanoecotoxicology research...

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) awarded a $314,745 Project Grant under the Environmental Health federal grant program (CFDA 93.113) to Materials Nova LLC, a SBA-certified women-owned small business, to develop a portable, high-speed mercury sensor for detecting toxic metal contaminants in water. The sensor will leverage the principal investigator's patented techniques to overcome limitations in nanosensing technology and provide individuals and households the...

Nanospy Inc. received a $256,000 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation Division of Industrial Innovation on August 15, 2021 to develop handheld graphene-based sensors for rapid detection of Salmonella species in food processing facilities. The award is part of the Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) administered by NSF, which seeks to improve quality of life and economic strength through engineering research and innovation. Under the grant, Nanospy will design portable sensors...

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), under the Environmental Health Federal Grant Program (CFDA 93.113), awarded a $390,724 Project Grant to the University of New Mexico to develop a "Standing Wave Acoustics for Nanoplastics Separations (SWANS)" platform. This 2-year project aims to create a proof-of-concept prototype that uses acoustic standing waves to rapidly enrich and isolate plastic nanoparticles from various samples, including bottled water,...

This $199,558 National Science Foundation project grant, funded under the Engineering (47.041) program, supports the development of an integratable nano-optical particle sizer for measuring ultrafine airborne particles less than 100 nanometers at Lawrence Technological University from February 2022 through January 2024. The proposed research aims to advance optical particle sensing capabilities to the ultrafine range by investigating optical responses of nano-optical structures to airborne...

This $500,000 federal Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) supports research by the Research Foundation for the State University of New York (RF SUNY) to investigate the transfer and toxicity of nanoplastics from mother to offspring in aquatic species. The 3-year project aims to: 1) synthesize detectable nanoplastics with well-characterized features as model materials; 2) identify the mechanisms of mother-to-offspring nanoplastic...

This $395,814.74 Cooperative Agreement awarded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) under the Science, Technology, Business and/or Education Outreach program (CFDA 11.620) supports the development of innovative, solvent-free extraction methods for measuring personal exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The key objectives are to research and implement thermal desorption (TD) and/or purge-and-trap (P&T) techniques coupled with gas...

This federal Project Grant award of $306,341 from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), under the Environmental Health program (CFDA 93.113), is supporting the development of a high-throughput, automated air sample analysis platform (ASAP) by Access Sensor Technologies LLC, a small business located in Fort Collins, Colorado. The ASAP system is designed to enable large-scale characterization of the "air exposome" by automating the analysis of hundreds of air...

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), awarded a $313,372 Project Grant under the Environmental Health (CFDA 93.113) federal grant program to ITA International LLC. The award, granted on June 3, 2025, supports the development of new methodologies for quantifying airborne ultrafine particulates (UFPs), microplastics (MNPs), and engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) in production environments. This research aims to address gaps...

This Project Grant award from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), under the Environmental Health federal grant program (CFDA 93.113), aims to quantify the release of nano- and micro-plastics (NMPs) from common plastic food and beverage containers, and assess their potential health impacts. The $1,479,178 award to the University of Nebraska will: Measure NMP release under various real-world usage conditions to understand how polymer properties and usage impact release...