May 24, 2007 — /PRNewswire/ — IRVINE, CA — Inscent, Inc. has received a Small Business Innovative Research grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation to develop a novel biosensor that will protect public health and national security by ensuring food and water supplies are free of bacterial contaminants that cause disease in humans. The new biosensor is a high-sensitivity, rapid response system designed to detect the presence of bacterial metabolic by-products in samples up to 20 times faster than existing technologies. The biosensor is based on Inscent’s Attenu high-throughput assay system and is the first in a series of novel devices under development that are intended to detect disease agents, pollutants, toxins, or other harmful substances such as explosives. This novel platform technology will positively impact several industries, including environmental monitoring and medical diagnostics.
Inscent, Inc. (www.inscent.com) has developed a number of novel platform technologies to exploit the wide variety, selectivity, and high sensitivity of insect chemosensory systems. The company’s platform technologies are crucial for the development of highly sensitive biosensors, and its designs utilize a versatile in-house collection of insect chemosensory proteins. This proprietary collection of chemosensory proteins is also being used to develop a series of non-toxic, highly efficient insect pest control products. Inscent’s platform technologies utilize the latest developments in molecular genetics, genomics, and bioinformatics to design advanced, environmentally responsible insect pest control solutions and effective, sensitive biosensors.
The National Science Foundation (NSF; www.nsf.gov) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering, with an annual budget of $5.58 billion. NSF also encourages scientific innovation and discovery in the commercial sector, primarily through the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program. Inscent’s proposal for the development of a novel biosensor to ensure food and water supply safety has led the federal agency to fund continued development work that will be carried out at Inscent’s laboratory in Irvine, CA. Inscent, Inc. continues this project while maintaining its wide development base that includes products for public health, security, public safety, agricultural, and domestic applications.
Source: Inscent, Inc.
Contact:
Daniel F. Woods, chief scientific officer of Inscent, Inc.
Tel: 949-955-3129
Fax: 208-693-4743