FLC Awards Archive
— 2004
Awards for Excellence in Technology Transfer
Department of Energy
Argonne
National Laboratory
Improved Electrodialysis
Operation with Buffer Solution
A novel electrodialysis process
for the production of a specialty agricultural
chemical has been successfully commercialized
by a team at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL).
This technology controls the pH in a bipolar
electrodialysis stack by using a buffer agent
that is regenerated continuously. The technology
significantly improves the efficiency of electrodialysis
cells and stacks, in particular those used in
chemical synthesis. Working with BASF Corp.,
ANL integrated its technology for process control
with BASF’s new electrodialysis process.
ANL researchers used their unique
pilot-plant facilities to carry the bench-scale
work through to commercial production in less
than 18 months. Once the viability of the process
was confirmed with pilot production runs at
ANL’s electrodialysis facility, a license
was negotiated that transferred ANL technology
to BASF.
Agreements were reached that provided
training of BASF plant operators at ANL. To
provide short-term commercial production to
meet market demand for the new chemical, an
agreement was also reached that allowed the
ANL facility to be operated by BASF personnel
as a commercial production plant. The facility
operated successfully 24 hours per day, five
days per week, for six months, with no unscheduled
downtime. During the six months of operation,
production exceeded the initial targeted production
by almost 25%.
The outcome of this technology
transfer effort is expected to advance the use
of electrodialysis for applications in the specialty
chemical and pharmaceutical industries.
Contact: Edward Daniels, (630)
252-5279,
edaniels@anl.gov
Lawrence
Berkeley National Laboratory
Minimizing Casualties
from a Chem/Bio Attack:
Preparation, Training and Response Resources
In late 2001, terrorists used
anthrax to kill several people, disrupt mail
deliveries, and render congressional office
buildings uninhabitable. The buildings were
eventually reoccupied at a cost of well over
$150 million and after enormous disruption to
their occupants. These relatively limited attacks
had huge consequences; a major chemical or biological
attack could be much more severe.
Even before the anthrax releases,
scientists in the Indoor Environment Department
of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
(LBNL) had been conducting research aimed at
reducing the effects of a chemical or biological
attack. This research builds on a long tradition
of work within the department on building airflows,
filtration effectiveness, and air quality issues.
The anthrax attacks prompted department scientists
to ask, “Is there anything we can contribute
right now?”
The answer was “yes.”
The researchers identified several target groups
that could benefit from increased knowledge.
These included building operators who are in
charge of the design, maintenance, and operation
of building ventilation systems; managers of
unique, high-value buildings such as airports;
emergency planners and incident commanders who
have to decide what areas of a city to evacuate
and where to send response teams; and “First
Responders” — the firefighters and
police officers who are the first trained people
on the scene of an attack.
The LBNL team was successful in
identifying and meeting the needs of each of
these target groups. The team provides advice
for building operators through the Secure Buildings
web site, which has had thousands of visitors
viewing over 40,000 pages since early 2002.
The team worked with colleagues at Sandia National
Laboratories to provide recommendations to airport
managers on preparation, training, and event
response. Since people spend the majority of
their time indoors, the team worked with the
National Atmospheric Release Advisory Center
at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to
predict indoor toxic concentrations from a Bhopal-type
emergency — an important addition to the
suite of outdoor prediction tools already available.
Finally, the team created First Responder training
materials for the California Peace Officers
Standards and Training Agency, which has used
the materials to train police officers in much
of the U.S.
These efforts have improved the
readiness and safety of the nation’s police
officers, the security of the nation’s
buildings and their inhabitants, the effectiveness
of local emergency response, and the safety
of the U.S. air transportation network. A major
attack may still have consequences, but they
will be lessened because of the scientific work
and outreach of the LBNL team.
Contact: Dr. Phillip Price, (510)
486-4651,
PNPrice@lbl.gov
Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory
RadScout Handheld Nuclear
Material Identifier
RadScout is a handheld radiation
detector that identifies the type of radioisotopes
present in a location with the precision that
until now was found only in laboratory instruments.
A team at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
(LLNL) developed the detector and transferred
it to ORTEC, a business unit of AMETEK, Inc.
RadScout is the first commercialized radiation
detector manufactured with its capability, and
it responds to a critical need of first responders
in every field.
Before RadScout was available,
first responders encountering a possible radiation
source had to experience a potentially deadly
time delay as samples containing possibly dangerous
radioisotopes were either sent to a laboratory
for analysis or isolated while laboratory equipment
was shipped to the sample.
RadScout provides fire departments,
government authorities, and hazard and medical
teams with a handheld radiation identifier that
distinguishes harmless from dangerous radioisotopes
so they can make intelligent, life-saving decisions
quickly. RadScout is self-contained, weighs
only 25 pounds, and contains its own battery-operated
cooling unit, which allows the detector to operate
for several hours before the batteries need
to be recharged. RadScout can also operate from
various sources, including AC power and car
batteries using a cigarette lighter adapter.
An American-owned company, ORTEC
is one of the world’s leading manufacturers
of radiation detectors. Its product line includes
over 1600 products. For 40 years, ORTEC has
worked with U.S. government agencies and private
industries, and with the research and development
group of Defense and Nuclear Technologies at
LLNL. ORTEC manufactures RadScout under the
product names Detective and Detective EX.
The development of RadScout will
have a major impact on the security of America’s
citizens and infrastructure. The greatest tangible
benefit of RadScout is that its portability
and real-time data analysis allow first responders
to know immediately upon inspection if there
is a health
or safety threat and the magnitude of the threat.
Real-time data analysis will allow intelligent
decisions to be made much more quickly,
which translates into the potential of saving
thousands of lives in just one event of a terrorist
threat.
Contact: Raymond Pierce, (925)
423-8465,
pierce13@llnl.gov
Oak
Ridge National Laboratory
Lab-on-a-Chip
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
(ORNL) has licensed seminal patents for Lab-on-a-Chip
technology to Caliper Technologies, Inc., of
Mountain View, California. The transfer of the
technology contained in these patents was key
to Caliper’s first products and its rapid
transition from a startup to a publicly traded
company and world leader in microfluidics technology
in less than five years. Microfluidic Lab-on-a-Chip
systems enable experiments ordinarily performed
in a full-sized laboratory to be conducted on
chip devices smaller than a credit card. The
chip contains microscopic channels through which
fluids and chemicals are moved to accurately
perform assays, significantly reducing time
and expense. The initial commercial uses have
been in the areas of drug discovery and biotechnology.
Over 35 lead drug candidates have been discovered
with Caliper’s technology.
The Lab-on-a-Chip concept was
proposed, developed, and patented at ORNL. The
laboratory initially funded the effort through
its Laboratory-Directed Research and Development
Program, first by providing support for a small
seed money project and subsequently by funding
genetic and protein research. Both the inventors
and ORNL technology transfer staff were involved
in marketing the technology.
Caliper, with Agilent Technologies,
Inc., of Palo Alto, California, introduced the
first commercial product in 1999. Caliper has
since launched its own product line, and offers
complete systems to end users and components
to equipment manufacturers. It has installed
more than 2000 bioanalyzers and has sales of
over 500,000 chips per year. As of March 2003,
Caliper had cash and marketable securities of
over $140 million and a cumulative R&D investment
of $120 million. MIT Technology Review (May
2003) ranked it No. 2 for the technological
strength of its patent portfolio in the biotechnology/pharmaceutical
sector, ahead of major companies such as Pfizer,
Eli Lilly, and Roche, and No. 3 across all industries
for its “Current Impact Index.”
Technology transfer from ORNL was crucial in
making this phenomenal commercial success possible.
Lab-on-a-Chip won an R&D 100
Award in 1996, was named one of the top 40 technologies
over the 36-year history of the R&D 100
Award, and recently received an Honorable Mention
in the September 2003 FLC Southeast Region’s
Excellence in Technology Transfer competition.
Contact: Dr. J. Michael Ramsey,
(865) 574-5662,
ramseyjm@ornl.gov
Microcantilever-Based
Biosensors
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
(ORNL) has licensed the biosensor component
of its microcantilever technology to Protiveris,
Inc., of Rockville, Maryland. The mission of
Protiveris is to commercialize biosensors that
will accelerate the drug discovery and development
process and thus aid in the launch of new pharmaceuticals.
The VeriScanTM 3000, a product developed by
Protiveris, uses a 64-cantilever microchip capable
of detecting 64 different proteins in a single
assay in real time, with unprecedented selectivity
and sensitivity. Researchers at ORNL conceived,
developed, and patented the microcantilever-based
biosensors. The microcantilever concept, developed
under an ORNL seed money effort, has resulted
in 21 patents, with another 10 pending; and,
75 scientific papers have been published so
far. The U.S. Department of Energy Office of
Biological and Environmental Research directly
funded the biosensor project. A CRADA is being
negotiated with Proteveris for continued R&D.
The microcantilever sensor is a platform technology.
It can be applied anywhere that a miniature
sensor can be used. The biosensors, in particular,
will have a broad impact. For example, in the
United States alone, the market for microcantileverbased
biomedical diagnostics is well in
excess of $500 million annually. Overall, the
microcantilever biosensor will have tremendous
industrial, commercial, civilian, and military
significance. The microcantilever-based biosensors
recentlywon an FLC Southeast Region Award for
Excellence in Technology Transfer in September
2003.
Contact: Dr. Thomas Thundat, (865)
574-6201,
thundatt@ornl.gov
Robust Wireless Technologies
for Extreme-Environment Communications
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
(ORNL) currently has an intellectual property
portfolio for robust wireless communications
technologies that includes 11 patents and patent
applications. The laboratory has licensed all
of these technologies to Tarallax Wireless,
Inc., of Salt Lake City, Utah, which is incorporating
them into commercial communications devices
through a $6.6 million, 100% funds-in CRADA
with ORNL. Tarallax has sublicensed specific
technologies to Navigational Sciences, Inc.,
of Charleston, South Carolina, for use in commercial
maritime tracking and tagging devices. Navigational
Sciences is also funding additional developments
through the Tarallax CRADA.
In separate efforts, ORNL licensed
these technologies to two startup companies,
Graviton and Care Chips. Both have provided
CRADA funding to ORNL for further development
of their applications. Wireless technologies
enable robust communications in extreme environments,
such as metal buildings, urban canyons, mountainous
terrain, and underground facilities. Conventional
wireless devices are limited in many applications
because of their high power consumption, short
operating lives, and interference from metal
structures and electromagnetic sources. These
technologies open a whole new world of wireless
applications—industrial measurements and
condition monitoring, medical sensors, asset
tagging and tracking, and efficient video communication
and data transfer.
This effort won “Project
of the Year” in the September 2003 FLC
Southeast Region Excellence in Technology Transfer
awards competition.
Contact: Paul Ewing, (865) 576-5019,
ewingpd@ornl.gov
Thin-Film Rechargeable
Lithium Batteries
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
(ORNL) has licensed its thin-film rechargeable
lithium battery technology to six U.S. companies.
The licensee companies are developing miniaturized
batteries to power various devices, such as
medical implants, consumer and military electronics,
banking and identification cards, industrial
and security sensors and transmitters, and micromachines.
Each of the licensees (Teledyne Electronic Technologies;
Excellatron Solid State, Inc.; Front Edge Technology,
Inc.; Infinite Power Solutions, Inc.; Cymbet
Corporation; and Oak Ridge Micro-Energy, Inc.)
has expertise in fabricating thin-film devices
and is developing partnerships with device manufacturers.
The basic research was initiated
through ORNL seed money funds. Support continued
under the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office
of Science programs. Company representatives
initiated technical and business discussions
with ORNL after reading published accounts of
the basic research. Subsequent collaborative
research was supported by a number of mechanisms,
including DOE- and industryfunded CRADAs and
Work for Others agreements. ORNL granted licenses
as the technology matured, and the companies
began their own R&D efforts, funded by in-house
and venture capital funds, Small Business Innovation
Research contracts, and National Institute of
Standards and Technology Advanced Technology
Program awards.
The thin-film rechargeable lithium
battery technology won an R&D 100 Award
in 1996 and an FLC Southeast Region Excellence
in Technology Transfer Award in September 2003.
Contact: Dr. Nancy Dudney, (865)
576-4874,
dudneynj@ornl.gov
Pacific
Northwest National Laboratory
Alpha Particle Immunotherapy
for Treating Leukemia and Solid-Tumor Metastases
A promising new cancer treatment
is the outcome of a successful technology transfer
effort at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
(PNNL). Alpha particle immunotherapy (APIT)
makes it possible to effectively treat patients
with malignancies of the hematopoietic system—such
as leukemia—and metastasis from many solid
tumors with fewer side effects than other treatments.
APIT combines the power of alpha particle-emitting
radioactive isotopes (actinium-225 or bismuth-
213) with monoclonal antibodies that bind to
and destroy specific cancer cells, but not nearby
healthy tissue. Early trials at major research
centers yielded very encouraging results.
The primary supplier of APIT is
MedActinium, a small radiopharmaceutical firm
in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The company turned
to PNNL researchers to solve two obstacles to
commercial use of APIT: purifying the isotope,
and binding it to the antibody to create a stable
product. The nominees transferred a new separations
chemistry for generating bismuth-213 and a key
enabling technology for placing actinium-225
on monoclonal antibodies. The result is that
these powerful new radioisotopes are now available
to treat patients with leukemia or fast-spreading
solid-tumor cancers.
This technology transfer involved
collaborative efforts among private industry,
academic research institutions, and U.S. government
agencies. In making the transfer, PNNL built
on relationships with the pharmaceutical industry
dating from 1986. The laboratory’s research
in APIT-enabling technologies was part of a
larger effort to develop beneficial uses for
radioactive materials remaining from weapons
production during the Cold War. The transfer
itself was fast-tracked during planning for
initial clinical trials. The effort included
exclusive license agreements for five immunology
patents, negotiation and conclusion of a separate
technology management agreement with an earlier
research partner, and establishment of a CRADA
for further research. The transfer was completed
in January 2003.
The transfer of technologies from
PNNL to MedActinium is a contributing factor
in the ability of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering
Cancer Center and other research medical centers
to continue the quest for effective cancer treatments.
A second round of clinical trials is scheduled
to begin at Sloan-Kettering in fall 2004. According
to David A. Scheinberg, M.D., Ph.D, and chairman
of the Sloan-Kettering Experimental Therapeutics
Center, “You can inject small doses of
these [APIT] molecules, which circulate, find
their target cells, invade them, and eventually
kill the cells. These are extremely potent drugs.”
Contact: Dr. Darrell Fisher, (509)
373-2000,
dr.fisher@pnl.gov
Electrodynamic Ion Funnel
The electrodynamic ion funnel,
developed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
(PNNL), is a revolutionary development that
directs ions in gases, greatly improving the
sensitivity of analytical devices, such as mass
spectrometers, that depend on ion formation
and transfer in the presence of gases. The funnel
uses a series of ring electrodes of increasingly
smaller internal diameters to which radio frequency
(RF) and direct current (DC) electric potentials
are co-applied. The combination of collisions
with neutral gas and the combined RF and DC
fields causes the ions to be more effectively
focused and transmitted, significantly enhancing
the sensitivity of the mass spectrometer. Realization
of the ion funnel’s potential will benefit
a host of important commercial activities, including
drug discovery and biotechnology development,
where sensitivity is key.
Through a nonexclusive licensing
mechanism, the PNNL team successfully transferred
the electrodynamic ion funnel to three companies:
Micromass in 2001; Biospect, Inc., in 2002;
and Bruker Daltonics, Inc., in 2003. Two of
these companies are major manufacturers of mass\
spectrometers, while the third is a startup
company developing a new class of instruments
for human clinical applications.
An innovative aspect of this technology’s
transfer has been the mass spectrometer instruments
(initial market value of less than $750,000)
provided at no cost to PNNL in exchange for
access to the ion funnel technology and the
expertise of its developers. The ion funnel
may help scientists obtain effective, thorough
answers to major scientific questions, including
how a disease progresses, what causes it and,
eventually, how to stop it. This technology
also has the potential for uses to determine
how the human body responds to certain drugs,
cancer progression, and almost any other biomedical
or health-related need.
The electrodynamic ion funnel
received a 1999 R&D 100 Award, which recognizes
the year’s most significant advancements
in technology.
Contact: Dr. Richard Smith, (509)
376-0723,
dick.smith@pnl.gov
Inductively Coupled
Plasma/Mass Spectrometry Collision/Reaction
Cell Technology
The Inductively Coupled Plasma/Mass
Spectrometry (ICP/MS) Collision/Reaction Cell
(CRC) technology developed at Pacific Northwest
National Laboratory (PNNL) has advanced the
analysis capabilities of mass spectrometer instruments
worldwide. ICP/MS can now detect and measure
many important elements that were not detectable
with conventional MS. This technology has had
a significant and widespread impact in the analytical
chemistry world, and has broad applications
in environmental monitoring and testing, biotechnology,
semiconductor manufacturing, and homeland security.
In inventing this technology, the PNNL team
brought to bear their extensive experience using
and improving mass spectrometry.
The first step in the technology
transfer was forming a CRADA with an interested
commercial ICP/MS manufacturer. That enabled
the team to continue to improve their science.
They soon patented their technology and licensed
it to ThermoFinnigan. In 2002, through the team’s
persistence, an amended license was signed that
requires and further gives ThermoElectron the
incentive to sublicense the CRC technology to
other manufacturers of mass spectrometers for
wider benefit to the ICP/MS community.
Research at PNNL alerted the mass
spectrometer community to the use of ionmolecule
reactions for interference reduction and greatly
amplified research interest. There were few
publications on this subject before 1996, but
more than 200 peer-reviewed publications have
been issued since the disclosure of this successful
technique. The CRC approach to removing mass
spectral interferences has been adopted throughout
the world. Today, more than 60% of ICP/MS instruments
sold incorporate PNNL’s CRC technology.
The efforts of the team have thus improved scientific
analysis and contributed to international commerce
for the benefit of the global economy.
Contact: Dr. David Koppenaal,
(509) 376-0368,
David.Koppenaal@pnl.gov
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