LYNNTECH INC. — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: N201-075

Description

Marine environmental DNA (eDNA) is a rapidly emerging field to assess biological species including people, animals, plants, bacteria, viruses, etc. presence in a body of water.  Traditional methods for assessing biological inhabitants in bodies of water are extremely difficult and have significant logistical burdens.  Marine eDNA monitoring may be a very useful tool in greatly reducing these logistical burdens.  However, current eDNA monitoring schemes involve sampling various points in a body of water and returning them to laboratories for analysis.  Significant advances have been made in the sampling side of marine eDNA collection, such as unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) for automated sampling collection, but analysis is still limited to laboratory sites.  There is a significant need to bring eDNA monitoring technologies into forward deployment as part of vehicle payloads to simplify the eDNA monitoring process.  Lynntech will develop an innovative eDNA analysis system to couple with deployable vehicles, such as UUVs, to allow for unattended monitoring of marine species.  It is the intent of the eDNA analysis technology to provide efficient and accurate biological monitoring of bodies of water.