Platypus Technologies Receives a $400,000 SBIR Grant to Develop Asthma Monitor

Platypus Technologies Receives a $400,000 SBIR Grant to Develop Asthma Monitor

Madison, WI – Platypus Technologies, a developer of products for the analytical and life sciences that utilize recent advances in nanotechnology and material science, has announced that it has been awarded a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant for $400,000 from the National Institutes of Health. This 2-year funded project will enable Platypus to achieve greater sensitivity in detecting nitric oxide (NO) using its patented Liquid Crystal (LC) Technology. The levels of NO in exhaled human breath have been correlated with the severity of lung tissue inflammation associated with asthma. The Platypus® disposable NO sensor has already shown specificity for NO in the presence of other components abundant in human breath including oxygen, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, moisture, ammonia, and hydrogen disulfide. According to Renee Herber, Program Manager, “this is an exciting project that helps us to expand the types of analytes detectable by our technology and has the potential to move us into new commercialization opportunities.” Platypus Technologies has received over $18 million in federal funding to develop LC-based nanotechnology products for environmental monitoring, infectious disease testing and homeland security.