I-Corps: Scintillating Nanoparticles for Low Energy Radioisotope Analytical Workflows

I-Corps项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种新的纳米材料技术，用于测量极低浓度的放射性同位素标记的分子。这项新技术将能够直接在水基溶液中实时测量新的生化反应。此外，这种新的纳米材料技术将广泛适用于涉及放射性材料的环境和能源相关研究。这项拟议的技术解决了现有商业方法的几个局限性，减少了废物的产生和处置，实现了依赖时间的测量，实现了活细胞内的测量，并提供了多种化学类型的同时检测。该项目将使学术和工业用户能够进行新的生化和生物学研究，并扩大测量不同类别重要分子的能力，推动多个市场领域的进一步创新。这个i-Corps项目基于一系列纳米材料技术的开发，这些技术在放射性同位素和放射性同位素标记化合物存在的情况下产生光(闪烁)。纳米材料闪烁体技术能够对使用其他技术无法测量的重要分子进行高灵敏度检测。微调这些纳米材料的化学和物理性质使它们能够直接在水环境中发挥作用，从而允许对重要的生化系统进行动态测量。独特的纳米材料架构在常见的商业仪器中具有功能性，降低了采用的门槛，大大减少了废物的产生，并降低了后端成本。拟议的项目将探索这些技术的翻译。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a new nanomaterial technology used to measure molecules that are labeled with radioisotopes at very low concentrations. This new technology will enable real-time measurement of new biochemical reactions directly in water-based solutions. In addition, this new nanomaterial technology will be broadly applicable for environmental and energy-related studies involving radioactive materials. The proposed technology addresses several limitations of existing commercial methods by reducing waste generation and disposal, enabling time-dependent measurements, enabling measurements inside of living cells, and providing simultaneous detection of multiple chemical types. This project will enable academic and industrial users to perform new biochemical and biological studies and expand the ability to measure diverse classes of important molecules, driving further innovation in multiple market spaces.This I-Corps project is based on the development of a series of nanomaterial technologies that generate light (scintillate) in the presence of radioisotopes and radioisotope-labeled compounds. The nanomaterial scintillator technology enables high-sensitivity detection of important molecules that cannot be measured using other techniques. Fine-tuning the chemical and physical properties of these nanomaterials enables them to be functional directly in aqueous environments, thereby allowing dynamic measurements of important biochemical systems. The unique nanomaterial architectures are functional in common commercial instrumentation, lowering the barrier to adoption and substantially reducing waste generation, as well as lowering back-end costs. The proposed project will explore translation of these technologies.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.