|
Through Small Business Innovation
Research (SBIR) funding from NASA's Stennis Space Center,
comes a new product that measures the photochemical efficiency
of plants. Ciencia, Inc., of East Hartford, Connecticut, created
a new device, known as a Portable Photosynthesis Analyzer, or
Phase Fluorometer, that provides real-time data about the photochemical
efficiency of phytoplankton and other plant forms. The commercial
version of this technology is used for photosynthesis research
and offers major benefits to the field of life science. This
new instrument is the first portable instrument of its kind.
Through a license agreement with Ciencia, Oriel Instruments,
of Stratford, Connecticut, manufactures and markets the commercial
version of the instrument under the name LifeSense.™
LifeSense is a 70 MHz single-frequency
fluorometer that offers unrivaled capabilities for fluorescence
lifetime sensing and analysis. Fluorescence lifetime refers to
the lifetime of the fluorescence process, whereby certain materials
emit light at certain wavelengths after absorbing light of shorter
wavelengths. The core behind this technology was developed in
collaboration with Stennis in an attempt to create a device that
could measure the photochemical efficiency of phytoplankton in
the oceans.
 |
The
LifeSense™ instrument
is a 70 MHz single-frequency fluorometer that offers superior
fluorescence lifetime sensing and analysis capabilities. |
Presently, NASA uses the Portable Photosynthesis
Analyzer for various in situ oceanographic applications. A shipboard
version of the instrument was developed for conducting phytoplankton
studies. These studies will lay a foundation for comparison,
or a ground truth, for data gained from satellite remote sensing
of ocean color, human habitability, and biology in space.
The new technology also has other
applications. According to Dr. Salvador Fernandez, president
of Ciencia, the most significant commercial potential of this
technology lies in its instrumental use for photosynthesis research,
and in systems for high throughput screening of compounds in
agricultural chemical research and drug studies.
LifeSense provides information
about all varieties of photosynthetic systems. Photosynthesis
research contributes important health assessments about the plant,
be it phytoplankton or a higher form of plant life. With its
unique sensing capabilities, LifeSense furnishes data regarding
the yield of a plant's photochemistry, as well as its levels
of photosynthetic activity. The user can then gain an extremely
accurate estimate of the plant's chlorophyll biomass, primary
production rates, and a general overview of the plant's physiological
condition. One of the major LifeSense advantages, is the instrument's
ability to model chlorophyll fluorescence and photosynthesis,
both of which are related to long, healthy plant lifetimes.
Until now, fluorescence lifetime
sensing required expensive equipment. However, with the LifeSense
device, the user gets high-resolution, high-sensitivity, rapid
measurement time, and broad spectral versatility, all at a relatively
low cost.
While NASA benefits from utilizing
the portable analyzer on several projects, including the Sea-viewing
Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS), the Moderate-resolution
Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and the Space Station Biological
Research Program, Ciencia's plans for the future are more down
to earth. The company anticipates further potential commercial
applications in the areas of precision agriculture, aquaculture,
forestry, and food safety.
Recently, Ciencia entered into
a licensing and development agreement with HTS BioSystems, of
Hopkinton, Massachusetts, to develop further applications of
this technology for high throughput screening in drug discovery.
Under this agreement, Ciencia will be providing analysis, design,
instrumentation, development, systems integration, and prototype
fabrication services to HTS.
LifeSense™ is a trademark of Oriel Instruments.
|
