GOEPPERT LLC — Department of Commerce SBIR Phase I: 9.3
GOEPPERT LLC — SBIR Phase I award from Department of Commerce.
Phase I SBIR feasibility signal
- Phase I awards fund proof-of-concept work. For capture teams, they mark early interest from Department of Commerce in a technical approach.
- Watch for Phase II follow-ons from the same firm/topic family — that conversion path is where budgets and transition pressure rise.
- Obligated amount $150,000. Cross-check similar awards in the same agency and technology tags for going-rate context.
- Topic code 9.3 links this award to a solicitation family — search the same topic stem for incumbents and recompete timing.
- Amount
- $150,000
- Agency
- Department of Commerce · National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
- Program / Phase
- SBIR · Phase I
- Topic
- 9.3
- Solicitation
- NOAA-OAR-OAR-TPO-2022-2007117
- NAICS
- —
- Place of performance
- PA
- Period
- 2022-09-01 → 2023-02-28
Description
Nanoplastics (plastic debris <1 μm in diameter) are a growing threat to our oceans, as nanoplastics demonstrate toxicity and are biomagnified through the aquatic food chain. Current detection methods for nanoplastics suffer from low specificity, inaccurate quantification, or require high-cost equipment, non-portable equipment which limits testing. There is a need for rapid, inexpensive testing methodology capable of discerning the size and chemical composition of nanoplastics. Here we propose to develop our compact, portable, easy-to-operate solid-state nanopore system for the detection and quantification of nanoplastics. We hypothesize that we can differentiate NPs from organic particles due to differences in electrical signals generated as the particles pass through nanopores. To test our hypothesis, we will fabricate low aspect ratio nanopores and validate these for detection of NPs using NIST traceable particle size standards. Finally, we will use our nanopore system to detect pure PET and PVC NPs of varying sizes. We anticipate our system will be capable of differentiating nanoplastics by size, shape, and chemical composition. Our low-cost, compact instrument will be useful for field studies of nanoplastics contamination, or for routine analyses of drinking water, and in production water and wastewater in manufacturing and food industries.