SpectraFluidics Inc., a company that specializes in developing and manufacturing trace vapor chemical detection and analysis technology, was recently awarded a $1.3 million contract from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration.

The scope of the award is to develop and validate a vapor detection system that quickly and efficiently detects homemade explosives, and can be used as an orthogonal detection system with imaging equipment.

“We are very pleased to be awarded our third government contract in less than 18 months for the development and application of our platform technology to deliver advanced trace screening capabilities to homeland security,” Spectrafluidics CEO Phil Strong said.

Spectrafluidics’ patented technology leverages two physical principles combined into a single system: free-surface microfluidics and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). The technology would be an improvement on current methods of detecting trace levels of chemicals, including explosives and other contraband, because of its ability to achieve high sensitivity, and specificity of vapor chemistries in a small footprint device.

“This award will provide a great opportunity to leverage and adapt our core detection technologies to serve the specific needs of TSA,” added Dr. Brian Piorek, chief scientist of SpectraFluidics.

SpectraFluidics Inc. is a privately owned corporation focused on developing platform solutions to detect and analyze trace chemicals in vapor form, in the lab and in the field. Their core technology is well suited to detecting volatiles such as explosives and illicit drugs, as well as a variety of other applications including food inspection and medical diagnostics.

SpectraFluidics’ primary offices and research laboratories are located in Santa Barbara. For more information, click here or email info@spectrafluidics.com.

— Phil Strong is CEO of SpectraFluidics Inc.