Applied Nanotech Wins U.S. Army Contract to Develop Portable Pollen Analyzer

Applied Nanotech Holdings, Inc. (APNT) announced that it has been awarded a Phase II STTR contract, in the amount of approximately $750,000, by the U.S. Army Research Office to develop a portable pollen analyzer. The purpose of the contract is to advance the APNT’s sensor technology and create an instrument for rapid identification and quantification of pollen in forensic samples.

The two-year program will bring APNT’s EZKnowz technology to the new level of performance and will begin the creation of a database of worldwide pollen distribution.

APNT will be partnering with Texas A&M University to tackle the issue of collecting and identifying unique pollen samples. Professor Vaughn M. Bryant, the leading expert in forensic palynology, envisions that the project will result in a real-time pollen analysis system needed by the Army, DoD, ICE, and by many local and state law enforcement and intelligence agencies.

APNT will also partner with UC Davis to develop machine learning algorithms for reliable pollen classification and quantification. Prof. Cristina E. Davis has expertise on mobile chem/bio sensor platforms and accurate identification algorithms that are critical for the success of the program.

“This technology will offer great flexibility in meeting a critical need for the rapid pollen identification system,” said Dr. Igor Pavlovsky, chief scientific officer of APNT. “The portable analyzer can be utilized to provide near instantaneous information for identifying the spatial and temporal origin of pollen, as well as provide a tool for forensic scientists to determine the origin and recent history of vehicle use, people’s movements, and the pollen signatures of a wide range of materials associated with terrorism and/or criminal activities.”

“This is a very important contract that we have received for application of our EZKnowz technology in forensic science,” said Dr. Zvi Yaniv, president and COO of APNT. “Development of a system that can automatically analyze pollen in complex forensic samples is a major technological challenge, and we are very excited to partner on this program with Texas A&M University and UC Davis.”