Navy's SSC San Diego Signs License for QwikLite™ Technology

San Diego, California, June 30, 2005 — The Office of Research and Technology Applications (SSC San Diego Technology Transfer Office), directed by Dr. Stephen Lieberman, announced the signing of an exclusive license with Assure Controls, Incorporated, a Carlsbad Company specializing in the measurement and reporting of toxicity for civilian and military requirements. The new products from the company will use technology from Dr. Dave Lapota, Environmental Sciences and Applied Systems Branch (Code 2375), who invented the first laboratory instrument and patented the technique. In 2003 the American Society for Test and Measurement validated Dr. Lapota's system and published a standard for conducting toxicity tests with bioluminescent plankton.

Gary Wang SSC Director of Science, Technology and Engineering, Bryan Bjorndal of Assure Controls, Inc. and Dr. Stephen Lieberman, SSC Office of Research and Technology Applications

The commercialized instrument uses selected species of plankton that can be cultivated, packaged, and shipped to measure changes in bioluminescence and fluorescence when the plankton are exposed to toxic water or soil samples. This field-deployable product is the market's first economical, easy to use system for fast determination of harmful substances in the environment.

"The science is pretty simple really," Dr. Lapota, said. "It is reliable and easy to use, so I tested hundreds of water samples and compared the results to the techniques used by the Environmental Protection Agency and others today. The plankton are a great method to easily determine toxicity." The joint effort has produced the briefcase-sized QwikLite 200, a portable, battery operated instrument that interfaces to a handheld personal digital assistant, laptop, or personal computer. Disposable test kits of the packaged plankton are exposed to suspected toxic samples. The operator uses a bar-code scanner to begin the testing and document the results. At required intervals of 24, 36, and 48 hours the exposed test tubes are inserted into a light-tight chamber with the lid closed and the bioluminescence is measured.

"The plankton are much more sensitive than the shrimp or juvenile minnows traditionally used for toxicity testing," explained Dr. Lapota. "Those are higher life forms with natural defenses that often do not illustrate toxicity levels for several days, if at all. The plankton can cut this time down to 24 hours in most cases for a fraction of the cost."

Another major advantage is that unlike the other test organisms the plankton make their own food, need no special handling except exposure to light periodically, and are easy to use. The testing kit weighs only ounces and has a shelf life of four to six weeks at room temperature.

The Center for Commercialization of Advanced Technology (CCAT) played a key role in facilitating the commercialization of this technology. The Department of Defense funded CCAT program, managed by SSC San Diego, was instrumental in making the connection between the local entrepreneur and the SSC San Diego technology. According to Dr. Lieberman this commercialization effort would not have gotten off the ground without the market study, business plan support, and links to the entrepreneurial community that were provided by the CCAT team that includes the University of California San Diego, San Diego State University, and Lockheed Martin Orincon.

"Our technology transfer program worked hard to move this through the system," said Department Head Gary Wang, Director, Science, Technology and Engineering (Code 210). "Dual-use technologies with military and civilian applications are high priorities. It gives us all a great deal of satisfaction to know that commercial products resulting from research conducted by the Navy may play a role in protecting the health of our troops and rebuilding critical infrastructure in situations like Iraq, as well as providing new capabilities for the U.S. environmental industry."

Under the exclusive license signed between the Navy and Assure Controls, royalty payments are paid to the government in exchange for use of the government funded and patented technology.

We have several technologies here at the Center on similar tracks," said Wang. "Technology transfer is a partnership that brings together the entrepreneurial spirit evident throughout the San Diego business community with good ideas and technologies developed by the scientists and engineers at the Center."

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Contact Assure Controls:
Mickele Hughes Bragg
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