Portable Photosynthesis Analyzer Ciencia, Inc., East Hartford, Connecticut

1. Innovation • The Portable Photosynthesis Analyzer provides in situ, real time, measurement of photochemical efficiency in phytoplankton and higher plants. Photo Portable Photosynthesis AnalyzerCiencia, Inc., East Hartford, Connecticut • Accomplishments • A shipboard instrument has been built for oceanographic applications. • The analyzer has the sensitivity of < 0.5 g/L of chlorophyll in vivo. • This is the first instrument to solve the chlorophyll quantum yield variability problem. • The analyzer is the first instrument to directly measure quantum yield of photochemistry in PS II • This is the first portable instrument capable of chlorophyll fluorescence lifetime analysis The Portable Photosynthesis Analyzer was developed, in part, through the NASA SBIR contract with Ciencia • Commercialization • Ciencia owns U.S. Patent No. 5,818,582 covering certain aspects of this technology issued on October 6, 1998. • A commercial instrument targeted to the laboratory research market is being manufactured and marketed worldwide under the name of LifeSense by Oriel Instruments under a license agreement with Ciencia, Inc. • Ciencia recently entered into a joint development agreement with Packard Instrument Company to develop applications of this technology for High Throughput Screening (HTS) in drug discovery. • A spin-off application of the lifetime sensing technology subject of this SBIR was developed for lidar ranging. • Ciencia has been awarded a $270,000 contract to apply the lidar ranging technology to the development of a sensor for ocean level measurements. • Ciencia is involved in ongoing discussions with world leading bioanalytical company for application of the technology to the molecular biology and life sciences research markets. • The technology has broad potential commercial applications in precision agriculture, aquaculture, forestry and food safety. • Government/Science Applications • Stennis Space Center is using the shipboard prototype system developed through the SBIR program in coastal studies of primary production. • Technology is ready to be transitioned into an in situ vertical profiler instrument. • Applications include ground truth for satellite measurements of primary production from remote sensing of ocean color, human habitability and biology in space, and microgravity research. NASA programs to benefit include, Mission to Planet Earth, Sea Viewing Wide Field-of-View System (SeaWIFS), the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), CELLS, and the Space Station Biological Research Program. • Ames Research Center is funding development of a fluorescence cell analyzer based on related technology for application in the International Space Station . NIH is funding molecular biology applications. Points of Contact: - NASA (Commercial Technology Program, 228/688-1929) - Ciencia (S. Fernandez, 860/528-9737) 1997 SBIR Phase II; NAS # 13-97033 Stennis Space Center February 2000