Jan 10 2010
Platypus Technologies announces that it has been awarded a $2.2 Million federal contract with the Edgewood Chemical and Biological Center in Maryland (http://www.ecbc.army.mil). This 1-year funded project expands on the work performed by the Company under a contract with Edgewood that was completed earlier this year.
It will enable the Company to advance the development of a sensor using the Company’s proprietary liquid crystal (LC) technology to detect molecular interactions on nanostructured surfaces. The sensors will be useful in fields of application within both military and civilian settings. According to Dr. Richard Schifreen, CEO, “We are pleased to be able to continue our work in developing sensor technology that will assist our military. This funding will significantly improve our ability to develop liquid crystal-based sensors and will enable us to accelerate commercialization of these sensors for both military and commercial applications.”
At the company’s request, Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) secured funds for the project in the U.S. Department of Defense Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2009. “Platypus’s sensor technology development will not only help protect our troops in the field, but will create jobs and boost the local economy here in Wisconsin. This is a project worthy of federal support,” Baldwin said.
Platypus Technologies has received over $20 million in federal funding to develop LC-based nanotechnology products for environmental monitoring, infectious disease testing and homeland security, and assays for the study of cell motility.
Platypus Technologies, LLC develops innovative products for the analytical and life sciences that utilize recent advances in nanotechnology and materials science. The Company is developing a range of products, for diagnostic, environmental and laboratory applications, that derive from a proprietary platform technology utilizing liquid crystals for the rapid and low-cost detection of molecular interactions. Platypus Technologies has also successfully launched several products in the Oris cell-based assay line that enable life science researchers to study cell migration; a process critical to a variety of in vivo processes.