| Midwest Region Opportunities |
FLC Technology Locator
Get one-on-one personalized assistance from the FLC's Technology Locator! The Technology Locator will help you take your technology transfer collaboration efforts to the next level by putting you in contact with the laboratories, agencies or individuals conducting work in your area of interest. Read more
Current Technology Transfer Opportunities
- NIOSH is seeking partners to further develop and commercialize a new point-anchoring device, the bolthead clamp. This device provides a temporary or permanent anchoring point to assist with pulling, lifting, suspending, and material handling where there are exposed square-head bolts and where S-hooks and other suspension devices are not adequate or feasible. Numerous industries can benefit from this device, such as tunneling, mining, construction, maintenance, and renovation. Please contact Kathleen Goedel at Kgoedel@cdc.gov or 513-533-8686 for more information.
- The AFCEE BAA seeks out technologies and methodologies to reduce environmental impacts from current and past Air Force operations and apply them to Air Force installations worldwide. The key focus of this effort is to further develop and validate innovative, energy-efficient, and cost-effective technologies for the site characterization, remediation, and accelerated closure of environmental sites in restoration, compliance, pollution prevention, and Military Munitions Response Program (MMRP) areas for complying with all applicable regulatory requirements, policies and guidance. The goal is to identify more technically advanced, efficient, effective, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective solutions than are currently available. Such technologies and methodologies should aid the Air Force with reaching the remedy-in-place (RIP) goal or optimizing current remediation, monitoring, or other systems already in place, or reducing the quantity of toxic and hazardous chemicals and materials. The purpose of this acquisition is to apply promising and innovative technologies and methodologies that need further demonstration and validation. This acquisition is not to test theoretical concepts or technologies and methodologies that currently exist solely in a laboratory research and development phase or that have already been tested and validated multiple times in the field. The intent of this acquisition is not to acquire technologies or approaches that can be deemed as services. www.afcee.brooks.af.mil/pkv/baa/
- Novel Approaches to Improve Solubility - A global diversified chemical corporation seeks proposals for novel approaches to significantly improve the solubility or rate of solubilization of hydrophobic active materials.
- Stabilization of Nanoparticle Suspensions - A global manufacturing company invites proposals for technologies to prevent the aggregation of organic nanoparticles in both concentrated and dilute suspensions.
- Invisible Edges - A global applications company invites proposals for making the edges of colored vinyl films invisible.
- Low-Friction Technologies for Human Tissue Contact - A global healthcare company invites proposals for technologies (materials, coatings, patterns, etc.) that may provide ultra-low friction against wet, smooth, dilatable, and deformable mucosal surfaces.
- Measuring the Moved Distance/Direction More Precisely Than GPS - A multibillion-dollar information and communication technology (ICT) company invites proposals for devices that can be attached to one's belt or placed in a pocket, and can measure the moved distance and direction of the user, indoor or outdoor, at least as precisely as GPS.
- Seeking: Methods of attaching/grafting linear alpha-olefins onto PE, polyester elastomers, fluoros, and other polymers
Our client needs to functionalize polymers by grafting a linear aliphatic olefin to the polymer backbone. The polymers we're working with include harder-to-functionalize materials, in particular polyethylene, fluoropolymers, and thermoplastic polyester elastomers (such as DuPont Hytrel(r)). Our polymer applications often require high temperature resistance and high materials performance. Often, our polymers must perform at 150 degrees C, or even up to 280 C, as in the case of polyethylenes. We are particularly interested in grafting an aliphatic alpha-olefin to a thermoplastic polyester elastomer. The terminal double bond functional group must be retained in the final polymer. Ideally, the process you offer would be a secondary process that could be applied to a range of polymers. We are looking for generally, but not exclusively, high performance polymers. The olefin-containing polymer will be compounded into a formulation that will be made into components such as connectors, housings and other moldable parts. This technology will allow for the formation of a more durable polymer in a secondary processing step, e.g. higher use temperature, abrasion resistance, increased stiffness.
- Seeking: Real-time analysis and reporting of water-borne microorganisms
We need a technology that allows us to monitor the microorganism content of stored potable water in real time and report the water's status to assure its continued potability even after storage times as long as a year. For our purposes, the definition of potable water is 50 colony-forming units (CFUs) or fewer per milliliter. We're looking for a technology that allows us to monitor the condition of that water in real time and report its readings. Because we start with water from a municipal water system, the chemical and mineral content of the water is not of particular concern; however, the bacterial count is of concern. Current practice is to draw a sample of the water through a filter and use a growth medium to assess the bacterial concentration. By its nature, this process requires 48 hours, during which time people may be drinking the water. While reporting speed is important, of more importance is accuracy and the breadth of information about biological contaminants. We're also interested in tracking bacterial contaminants such as Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. As an alternative to an exhaustive report in real time, also acceptable may be a tiered system that reports total CFUs immediately for a snapshot of the stored water conditions, with detailed information on a specific set of problem-causing contaminants coming next, and a more complete analysis after that, as your system can generate it.
- Seeking: Rapid transmucosal delivery of active via buccal (mouth) tissues
We're looking for mechanisms to deliver an active ingredient rapidly through the buccal (mouth) tissues, rather than going through the GI tract or transdermally through the keratinized outer layer of the skin. Buccal tissues present challenges to the delivery of actives. As with all transdermal delivery mechanisms, your proposed mechanism must permeate the skin, but buccal delivery mechanisms also must deal with a mucosal and salival environment. Some of the active may be soluble in saliva, some may be washed down the GI tract; ideally, your mechanism would prevent this. Your solution may need permeation ingredients to help the active reach the bloodstream, either paracellularly (to avoid lipid interference in the tissues) or through the cell membranes themselves. Buccal tissue is limited in area. Your proposed solution must be efficient. Most active ingredients are large molecules. While we are not contemplating any specific active at this time, as a benchmark, we have determined that a satisfactory method would deliver a 5-mg dose of a 400-MW molecule to the bloodstream within 15 minutes. We strongly prefer that your proposed solution is at the proof-of-concept stage, and not merely theoretical. Ideally, you have already filed patents. We are willing to consider mechanisms that may require more than two years additional development, if they prove promising.
- Seeking: Non-toxic technology/materials to remove malodorous compounds from complex gas exhaust systems
We are searching for an effective means of reducing or removing the malodor (unpleasant smell) produced when organic matter is being digested, naturally degrades, or is industrially processed/incinerated. We are seeking removal and/or absorption technology to address this unpleasant odor or a means to stop the volatiles migrating and then subsequently adhering to nearby surfaces. An initial "screening test" and longer-term methodology for quantifying odor on surfaces, including skin, would also be of interest. When organic material degrades, by whatever means, it produces/emits a complex mixture of volatiles. Several of these volatiles have been identified. One of the most odorous is dimethyl trisulfide (TriSulphide). We are interested in selectively removing various malodorous molecules from effluent gas streams where the particle size is 0.5 -5.0 microns. The objective is to reduce or remove or absorb the malodor and not to mask it. Although the primary objective is not to mask the odor, particularly effective masking technologies may, however, be of interest. A list of specific compounds is included in the TechNeed.
- Seeking: Product odor control (packaging)
Looking for a technical means to reduce odiferous compounds (e.g., aldehydes, butanoic acid, indole) of an extruded food product through the package. Solutions could include, but are not limited to compounds that are embedded in or within the packaging to control product odor (i.e., primary or secondary packaging). Requirements include: 1) safe for oral ingestion or safe in association with orally consumable product, 2) level of effectiveness must be enough to give a noticeable difference to the human nose and/or be effective at reducing relevant odiferous compounds, 3) ideally, if primary packaging is the medium of transport, no negative impact to material properties (i.e., melt temperature, strength, etc.) result, 4) if secondary packaging is the medium of transport, the packaging medium must not be shaped or of a size that could be ingested due to inability to locate/stand out upon consumer use.
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