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Sterilization and Decontamination of Surfaces Contaminated

Award Information
Agency: Department of Defense
Branch: Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
Contract: N/A
Agency Tracking Number: 40208
Amount: $98,592.00
Phase: Phase I
Program: STTR
Solicitation Topic Code: N/A
Solicitation Number: N/A
Timeline
Solicitation Year: N/A
Award Year: 1998
Award Start Date (Proposal Award Date): N/A
Award End Date (Contract End Date): N/A
Small Business Information
614 1/2 Narcissus Ave.
Corona Del Mar, CA 92625
United States
DUNS: N/A
HUBZone Owned: No
Woman Owned: No
Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: No
Principal Investigator
 Eusebio Garate
 () -
Business Contact
 Eusebio Garate
Phone: () -
Research Institution
 University of Tennessee
 E. Christine Cox 
 
404 Andy Holt Tower,
Knoxville, TN 37996
United States

 Nonprofit College or University
Abstract

Decontamination of military personnel, equipment and facilities that have been exposed to deadly biological and / or chemical warfare agents is of critical concern to U.S. Armed Forces. Conventional technologies used for decontamination and sterilization suffer from drawbacks that include toxic effluents, radiation hazards to personnel, and very long time scales for the decontamination process pressure plasma system, which has already proven effective in sterilizing simple bacteria like E. coli and decomposing chemical warfare agent simulants, to effect sterilization of difficult to neutralize spores like bacillus subtilus. The plasma system will also be used to decontaminate metal and cloth surfaces that have been exposed to chemical warfare agent simulants. Standard characterization techniques, like gas chromatography and mass spectrometry, will be used to determine the residual chemical agent, and by-products, after exposure to the plasma. Standard plating and counting techniques will be used to determine the efficacy of the plasma treatment on the model biological warfare pathogens.

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

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