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Ceramic encapsulated nanoparticle-based covert taggants for tracking of materiel

Award Information
Agency: Department of Defense
Branch: Army
Contract: W911NF-07-C-0106
Agency Tracking Number: A064-007-0187
Amount: $749,883.00
Phase: Phase II
Program: STTR
Solicitation Topic Code: A06-T007
Solicitation Number: N/A
Timeline
Solicitation Year: 2006
Award Year: 2007
Award Start Date (Proposal Award Date): 2007-09-11
Award End Date (Contract End Date): 2008-09-09
Small Business Information
400 E Apgar Drive
Somerset, NJ 08873
United States
DUNS: 042939277
HUBZone Owned: No
Woman Owned: No
Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: No
Principal Investigator
 Ganesh Skandan
 Chief Executive Officer
 (732) 868-3141
 gskandan@neicorporation.com
Business Contact
 Ganesh Skandan
Title: Chief Executive Officer
Phone: (732) 868-3141
Email: gskandan@neicorporation.com
Research Institution
 CORNELL UNIV.
 Diana West
 
120 Day Hall
Ithicha, NY 14853 2801
United States

 (607) 255-0655
 Nonprofit College or University
Abstract

The Phase I program combined the technologies at Cornell and NEI, and demonstrated the feasibility of novel composite nanoparticle-based taggants for purposes of covert identification. The nanoparticles are an alternative to dyes, inks and other materials used as invisible markers. Key features of the composite nanoparticles are that the fluorescence and environmental stability are substantially enhanced relative to the free dye. The nanoparticles are non-toxic and lend themselves to be processed for a variety of end-user applications. Specifically, in Phase I, we began developing taggant particles with two different nanoparticle microstrutures, and the particle surface was modified to impart unique adhesive characteristics. The nanoparticles were characterized using spectroscopic and visual techniques. The Phase II program will build upon these results and focus on tailoring the structure and composition of the taggant nanoparticles to render them ready for implementation in the field. This will involve appropriate choice of dye molecules, tailoring size of nanoparticles and attaching the desired surface functionality on the surface. In addition, the synthesis processes will be scaled so as to deliver test quantities of material to the Army as well as our industrial partners.

* Information listed above is at the time of submission. *

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