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TECHNOLOGY

Liquid Crystal Technology

Platypus Technologies is applying its expertise in material sciences and nanotechnology to develop low-cost, innovative products that address unmet needs in the life sciences, environmental monitoring and human diagnostic markets.

The Company is building on discoveries by its founders, Drs. Nicholas Abbott and Chris Murphy and Barbara Israel to develop platform nanotechnologies that are useful for the ready detection and measurement of chemical and biological substances. The foundation of our proprietary sensor technology is the characteristic of liquid crystals (LCs) to align in a preferred direction on a chemically or biologically functionalized surface and their ability to change that orientation in response to a chemical or biological event (see Figure 1). This phenomenon is similar in principle to the reorientation of LCs in high resolution displays (LCDs) that occur in response to changes in an electric field. We are developing LC sensors that can be configured to provide a rapid optical or electronic response to the presence of a target molecule.

Targets Detected:

• Gases (Nitric Oxide), Organophosphonate Compounds (similar to Nerve Agents) and Industrial Toxic Gases (hydrogen sulfide)
• Molecular Markers of Infectious Agents
• Environmental Pollutants (Ozone and Pesticides)
• Binding Reactions Between Proteins (Antibodies and Antigens)

Areas of Application:

• Military/First Responders
• Food Quality
• Indoor Air Quality
• Human Diagnostics
• Industrial Air Quality
• Volatile Markers in Human Breath

Platypus' sensors can be formatted to give a visual signal that is easily seen by the operator, an opto-electronic signal that can yield a numerical value reflecting the amount of compound present, or an electronic signal that will be immune to potential optical interference.

Figure 1: Principle of Detection of Vapor using LC Sensors:

Publications

Detection of Organophosphate Pesticides Using a Prototype Liquid Crystal Monitor.
Acharya et al.
Journal of Environmental Monitoring, 2009
11, 49-55 | 49