IonField Systems Awarded Phase I SBIR Grant to Develop Cold-Plasma Cleaning Module for Microtiter Plates
Moorestown, NJ (PRWEB) September 25, 2013 -- IonField Systems, the pioneer in plasma cleaning treatment for life science applications, announced today that it has been awarded a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant totaling $148,850, by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) to develop an automated instrument to clean microtiter plates.
Single-use microtiter plates are a significant cost factor in high-throughput screening (HTS) campaigns for new drugs and many applications for in vitro diagnostics. IonField Systems will use the Phase I SBIR funds to develop and validate a prototype automated instrument that clean microtiter plates with cold-plasma technology. The automated cold-plasma cleaning instrument will clean plastic microtiter plates so that they can be reused multiple times, targeting a purchase cost reduction of 98% (50 reuses), as well as reductions in total plastic hazardous waste produced, reduced staff exposure to this waste and significant time savings in system setup and shut down.
Cold-plasma cleaning, which is achieved through exposure of the microtiter plates to plasma created by a high-voltage dielectric discharge, has proven effective in cleaning plastic pipette tips used in HTS. The TipCharger plasma treatment system, also developed by IonField Systems, has been widely used for cleaning 8-, 96- and 384-channel pipetting tips.
“IonField is excited in finding a research partner for cleaning microtiter plates,” said Paul Hensley, CEO of IonField Systems. “In our quest to reduce Life Sciences plastic waste and help create awareness about the massive consumption of plastic ware, we are thrilled to be working with the NCATS through this SBIR grant program.”
The Phase I grant was awarded in September, 2013 and is anticipated to be completed in six months. The Phase I objectives are to develop and validate prototype components; once completed successfully, IonField will be eligible to apply for Phase II grant which will be focusing on integration into laboratory robotic systems at both hardware and software levels.
About IonField Systems
IonField Systems, a life science instrumentation company, is the pioneer of applying plasma technology to reduce plastic waste in the research world. Its TipCharger™ system employs plasma technology to clean plastic and metal pipette tips and pin tools in seconds, rapidly ionizes organic molecules and completely decontaminate the tips and pin tools. IonField Systems has 7 patents and 2 patents pending. For more information, visit http://www.ionfieldsystems.com.
Contact:
Paul Hensley
1 Executive Dr., Suite 8
Moorestown, NJ 08057
Tel: +1 856 437 0330
Email: paul.hensley(at)ionfieldsystems(dot)com
Paul Hensley, IonField Systems, http://www.ionfieldsystems.com, +1 (856) 437-0330, [email protected]
Share this article