HAYWARD, CA, Apr. 20, 2011 -- OndaVia Inc. has received a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Science Foundation in the amount of $461,020 that will sponsor a two-year project to take the company's proof-of-concept for water contaminant detection to a commercial prototype.
The objective of the research is to produce a portable instrument and consumable cartridges that allow real-time monitoring of contaminants in water at the part-per-billion level.
Through its advancements in Raman spectroscopy and microfluidics technologies, OndaVia aims to change how trace levels of contaminants for industry and municipalities are identified and analyzed. The company's prototype enables users, with very little training, to obtain real-time water quality analysis: a drop of water is placed on a single-use, disposable cartridge and inserted into a battery-operated, portable instrument that reports results in the field in minutes.
The unit eliminates having to store samples, ship to a remote laboratory, or wait weeks for results. The technology provides analysis of organics, inorganics, heavy metals, and endocrine disrupting compounds, as well as pharmaceuticals and personal care products for water, wastewater, and industrial water.
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