After screening at least 50 different cyclodextrins, LLNL researchers found that the drug Subetadex shows enhanced affinities for fentanyl and its analogues.  Subetadex is a smaller version of sugammadex and with a smaller central cavity, allows it to bind extremely well to fentanyl by comparison.  A pharmacokinetic study showed a rapid clearance of this promising candidate from…

Rather than using genes carried by viruses, LLNL researchers have developed an alternative approach of delivering CAR to T-cells in form of proteins that are carried on the surface of nanolipoprotein (NLP) particles. NLPs are naturally occurring molecules that serve as structural mimics of cell membranes.  They can self-assemble and provide a structure or platform for connecting other…

The approach is to use appropriately doped semi-insulating gallium nitride to provide a high damage tolerant photoconductor with high responsivity to various pump wavelength light.  Mn, C, or Fe are used as dopants to provide a source of electrons or holes that can be excited.  This is combined with the use of dichroic antireflection coating at the GaN/polyimide/liquid crystal…

This LLNL invention allows for the fabrication of complex waveplate features and topologies from fused silica, a highly desirable and durable waveplate material.  It also is a unique technique for density multiplication and high-fidelity bidirectional deposition, which can create optical components that are generally for entirely new classes of optical materials.

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LLNL inventors have developed a method and device for the high throughput screening of various chemical and biological entities using a novel combination of cell-free protein synthesis (in vitro transcription-translation), microencapsulation and optical interrogation (Figure below). This includes automated sample handling, microemulsions, microfluidics manipulation, machine vision,…

This LLNL invention proposes a new microstructured large mode area fiber design that enhances the confinement of the core mode while strongly suppressing thermal or scattering mediated dynamic couplings with higher order modes thought to be responsible for generating undesirable Transverse Mode Instabilities. The design accomplishes higher order mode suppression and core mode confinement by…

LLNL researchers developed a novel strategy that involves material transformations such as oxidation, nitridation, or carbonization. In one embodiment, copper is heated under ambient conditions resulting in its surface being oxidized and turned into copper oxide, where a new material (e.g., copper oxide) is developed via transformation (e.g., oxidation) without additional addition deposition…

LLNL researchers have created a suitably compliant adhesive that is based on a thiol monomer mixed with an epoxy monomer in the presence of metal oxide nanoparticles.  When cured into films or pucks, the adhesives are optically transparent with a RI up to ~1.68 at 532 nm with varying shore A hardness in the range of 50 to 98. The adhesive can potentially be mixed and potted between Ti:…

LLNL researchers have continued to develop their pioneering DIW 3D-printed glass optics technology that allows for the 3D printing of single- and multi-material optical glass compositions in complex shapes. This LLNL invention further proposes incorporating dopants (including, but not limited to TiO2 and Pd) into slurries and inks for 3D printing of glass components that can then be directly…

LLNL inventors have developed a proprietary concept and a prototype NVU device that provides an effective in vitro model of the BBB to discover, develop and screen drug candidates for their ability to cross the BBB. The device could also be useful in studying neurological disorders with defects in BBB to understand the mechanism underlying the pathology of the disease that might…

This LLNL invention concerns a method for patterning the index of refraction by fabricating a spatially invariant metasurface, and then apply spatially varied mechanical loading to compress the metasurface features vertically and spread them radially. In doing so, the index of refraction can be re-written on the metasurface, thus enabling index patterning. This process allows rapid 'rewriting…

LLNL researchers have designed and developed a novel high-density, high-channel count 3D connector that enables hundreds or thousands of nonpermanent connections within a compact footprint. The connector addresses limitations of currently used conventional approaches that were described previously, which have an artificial ceiling on the number of recording sites of modern devices of no more…

As an important step toward overcoming the technical and environmental limitations of current REE processing methods, the LLNL team has patented and demonstrated a biobased, all-aqueous REE extraction and separation scheme using the REE-selective lanmodulin protein. Lanmodulin can be fixed onto porous support materials using thiol-maleimide chemistry, which can enable tandem REE purification…

This invention proposes achieving the same effect of a single, high intensity pulse through the use of a closely spaced burst of short duration pulses. By keeping the intensity of the individual pulses below the damage threshold the risk of catastrophic damage is greatly mitigated. Additionally, the pulses are directed to strike the target at locations temporally and spatially sufficiently…

Holography fully encodes a 3D light field by imprinting its interference pattern with a reference laser beam in a nonlinear medium. By crossing two pump laser pulses in a gas jet, a hologram can be recorded as a distribution of plasma, allowing manipulation of a subsequent high-intensity probe beam. The interference between two collinear beams with distinct foci produces a plasma zone plate, a…

This invention proposes the use of a nonlinear spectral broadening subsystem as a post-CPA pulse compression add-on for high energy laser systems. The proposed solution utilizes the beam profile of a high peak power laser as a reference to shape a highly transmissive nonlinear plastic (e.g., CR39) itself to ensure a spatially homogeneous nonlinear spectral broadening.

Powder atomic layer deposition process is used to coat nanopowders of host materials (e.g. yttrium aluminum garnet) with optically active neodymium organometal precursor followed by O₂/O₃ RF plasma to convert to a single layer of Nd₂O₃. The process can be repeated to build arbitrarily thick layers with custom doping profiles and followed by post-…

This novel invention specifically enables the fabrication of arbitrarily tailored birefringence characteristics in nano-structured meta-surfaces on non-birefringent substrates (e.g. fused silica). The birefringent nano-structured meta-surface is produced by angled directional reactive ion beam etching through a nano-particle mask. This method enables the simultaneous tailoring of refractive…

This invention (US Patent No. 11,294,103) is an extension of another LLNL invention, US Patent No. 10,612,145, which utilizes a thin sacrificial metal mask layer deposited on a dielectric substrate (e.g. fused silica) and subsequently nanostructured through a laser generated selective thermal de-wetting process.

This invention proposes fabrication of a sandwich of two or more (typically 3) magneto-rheologically finished (MRF’d) birefringent plates with purpose designed arbitrary surface contour profiles and eigen-axis orientation. The tailored surface contour profiles are designed to compensate for the observed de-polarization characteristics of a particular solid-state laser operating in a particular…

LLNL researchers have enhanced and expanded the IDEA technology, which fabricates micron-scale droplets that are then crosslinked in-air (within milliseconds) using a UV light source before collection. An aerodynamically shearing air jet or acoustic vibration force causes rapid droplet formation.

This LLNL invention is an optical amplifier, wherein the gain element is in the form of a frustum and a spherically diverging laser beam is introduced into the gain medium via the small face of the frustum. In one embodiment, the pump beam is generated by one or more chromium-lasers that are counter-propagating, having been introduced through the large face of the frustum. The gain medium may…

This invention circumvents the GMAPD deadtime limitation by using an array of GMAPDs in a non-imaging configuration instead of a single element. By using an array, with sufficient number of elements, guarantees there is always at least one element available to detect an incoming photon even if others are in the deadtime zone.

This invention works by imaging an ultrafast pulse diffracted from a large grating onto a spatial light modulator (SLM) thereby directly transcribing an arbitrary record on a pulse front tilted (PFT) ultrafast pulse. The grating generates PFT of the input pulse, and the SLM provides temporal control of the pulse through the space-to-time mapping of the tilted pulse. Coupling this patterned…

This invention exploits the non-linearities of optical Mach-Zehnder (MZ) electrooptic modulators to enhance small signal dynamic range at higher bandwidths. A linear photodiode (PD) converts the amplified optical signal output from the MZ back to an electrical signal completing an Electrical-Optical-Electrical (EOE) conversion cycle. The dynamic range can be further enhanced by daisy chaining…

This invention draws on the higher damage tolerance of plasma to manipulate high-intensity light. Plasma is a difficult medium to control and sets stringent limits on optical performance. A compact high-power laser system can be realized using plasma transmission gratings for chirped pulse compression based on currently achievable plasma properties and minimal plasma volume. A double…

This invention proposes a volumetric transmission grating based on ionization created in a neutral gas by crossing and interfering two short-pulse pump lasers so that their intensity maxima rise above the medium’s ionization threshold. This will create a modulated index of refraction that can diffract a subsequent probe beam like a transmission grating. Crucially for the application of…

This invention proposes using a pulse laser configured to generate laser pulses and a controller for controlling operation of the pulse laser. The controller is further configured to control the pulse laser to cause the pulse laser to generate at least one of the laser pulses with a spatiotemporally varying laser fluence over a duration of at least one of the laser pulses. The spatiotemporally…

Rapid monolith development at scale is achieved through use of a functionally equivalent optic simulant made from a low-cost material to substitute the functional optic. Monolith optical performance is affected not only by thermal expansion but also by temperature inhomogeneity due to the temperature dependence of refractive index.

Aeroptics are a proposed new class of monolithic optical system in aerogel fabricated by molding around a master mandrel. This approach combines the intrinsic stability of proven monolithic telescopes, with the ultralow density of silica aerogels. In Aeroptics, the monolith is hollow with an aerogel substrate providing a supporting structure. Theoretically, Aeroptics could enable 1-m aperture…

This invention proposes to engineer the current density along the length of a laser diode to overcome the penalty associated with non-uniformity resulting from asymmetry in the gain, photon or carrier density despite having uniform contact. Optimizing the current density profile enables diode lasers to operate with greater power conversion efficiency or operate with equivalent power conversion…

This invention proposes to engineer the temperature dependence of the emission wavelength of LEDs and laser diodes. The approach is to use a strain-inducing coating to counteract the intrinsic temperature coefficient of the emission wavelength of the LED or laser diode device thereby rendering it athermal. This invention avoids additional complexity, size, weight and power dissipation of…

This invention proposes a method to overcome the key limitation of electrically pumped lasers based on AlN, AlGaN, or AlInGaN, namely the lack of suitable shallow donor and acceptor dopants. As the band gap of these materials increases (and the emission wavelength decreases), both electrons and holes require greater thermal energies in order to ionize.

Laser diode lensing effect can be substantially reduced by creating a pattern interface such that the substrate is only attached at the diode mesa. This is achieved by either creating a pattern solder joint and/or pattern substrate.

This invention takes advantage of the high water-solubility of key NIF KDP crystal optics and uses water as an etchant to remove surface defects and improve the laser induced damage threshold. Since pure water etches KDP too fast, this invention is to disperse water as nanosized droplets in a water-in-oil micro-emulsion. While in a stable micro-emulsion form, the surfactant additives prevent…

This invention proposes to use laser induced melting/softening to locally reshape the form of a glass optic. The local glass densification that results induces predictable stresses that through plate deformation mechanics yield a deterministic methodology for arbitrarily reshaping an optic surface figure and wavefront without the need to remove material.

This invention achieves both a wider field of view and faster f-number within a monolithic substrate by incorporating an aspheric convex refractive first surface and a planar aspheric field corrector surface on the final refractive surface. These two refractive surfaces work in conjunction with a concave aspheric primary and convex aspheric secondary mirror (e.g. Cassegrain type) to improve…

This invention is about a Material Jetting technique used to form a ceramic green body that is subsequently processed into a transparent ceramic optic with unique tunable spatial control of the composition as a function of position only achievable via additive manufacturing methods. This method uses ceramic particles loaded into a liquid slurry with required viscosity and surface tension to be…

This invention consists of a method of forming nanoscale metal lines to produce a grating-like mask with wide area coverage over the surface of a durable optical material such as fused silica. Subsequent etching processes transfer the metal mask to the underlying substrate forming a birefringent metasurface. This method enables the production of ultrathin waveplates for high power laser…

This LLNL invention proposes a novel approach to spectral interferometry, the preferred technique for characterizing nanosecond long records of laser pulse shapes with femtosecond resolution. Linear techniques are much more sensitive than the many nonlinear techniques of the prior art and can be used for very weak pulses. However, they depend on being able to interfere the signal with a well…

LLNL has designed and demonstrated a novel transmission Spectral Beam Combining grating optic assembly with megawatt power handling capabilities. The design consists of a monolithic structure with an input transform optic and an output transmission grating. The design features LLNL’s proven compact, lightweight Spectral Channels Splicer architecture to combine adjacent spectral channels of…

Heat sensitive materials such as piezoelectric and MEMS devices and assemblies, magnetic sensors, nonlinear optical crystals, laser glass or solid-state laser materials, etc. cannot be exposed to excess temperatures which in the context of this invention, means materials that cannot be exposed to temperatures greater than 50°C (122°F). LLNL’s invention describes a low-temperature method of…

LLNL researchers have developed a high average power Faraday rotator that is gas-cooled and uniquely designed to dissipate heat uniformly so that it does not build up in the optical component and affect its performance.  The Faraday rotator material is sliced into smaller disks like a loaf of bread so that high speed helium gas can flow between the slices.  With this highly efficient…

This novel detector for characterizing IFE implosions is an alternative to the current RTNADs to measure neutron fluxes > 3x10¹¹ neutrons/cm² at high shot rates. The detector consists of a stack of small square metal wafers separated by thin insulating spacers. Every other wafer is held at high voltage while the remaining wafers are grounded. The stack acts as an…

LLNL researchers have discovered that some inexpensive and commercially available molecules used for other applications, could render certain lanthanide and actinide elements highly fluorescent. These molecules are not sold for applications involving the detection of REEs and actinides via fluorescence. They are instead used as additives in cosmetic products and/or in the pharmaceutical…

This invention discloses a method to minimize transient variations in the wavelength- and/or pointing-behavior of an optic, without requiring a reduction in its thermal resistance, optical absorption, or operating irradiance. The invention employs a combination of a time-varying heat source and time-varying thermal resistance and/or heat sink temperature to achieve temperature stability of the…

This novel method of producing waveplates from isotropic optical materials (e.g. fused silica) consists of forming a void-dash metasurface using the following process steps:

This invention concerns a new type of optic: a transient gas or plasma volume grating produced indirectly by small secondary lasers or directly by nonlinear processes using the primary beams themselves. When used in conjunction with advantageously placed shielding it offers a means of protecting the final optical components of a high-repetition-rate IFE facility. These transmission optics are…

This invention utilizes transmission gratings to combine lasers of the same wavelength into a single collinear output. The transmission grating can be an all-bulk structure fabricated in fused silica, silicon, diamond, silicon nitride, etc. The transmission grating can also have dielectric coatings to increase diffraction efficiency and optical bandwidth. This invention makes possible…

LLNL researchers in the NIF Directorate DoD Technologies RF Photonics Group explored phase modulation solutions to this signal processing challenge. Optical frequency combs offer phase noise characteristics that are orders of magnitude lower than available from commercial microwave references. The Photonics Group researchers recognized that by converting the intensity information into phase,…

To address shortcomings of current liposome drug delivery systems, the patented innovation uses drug-loaded liposomes containing carbon nanotube porins (CNTPs) inserted into the liposomal membranes for the delivery of the encapsulated drugs. Short CNTPs (10 nm in length) with narrow diameter (0.8 nm) has been demonstrated to facilitate efficient fusion of lipid bilayers resulting in the…

A new approach of developing synthetic antibacterial mineral assemblages can be used as an alternative treatment when traditional antibiotics fail in clinical and agricultural settings. Mineral mixtures can be synthesized with tunable metal release and reactive oxygen species generation that are capable of killing human pathogens and promoting wound healing. One of the key components in the…

The method described in a pending patent application uses a novel thiacrown (dibenzohexathia-18-crown-6) for efficient extraction of ^197m,gHg and ^197gHg from irradiated Pt target foils. The separation of ^197m,gHg and ^197gHg from Pt foils using this novel thiacrown was found to be highly specific. No detectable amount of the Pt foil was seen in the…

Combining the principles of nanotechnology, cell-free protein synthesis and microfluidics, LLNL researchers have developed a reusable, portable programmable system that can create purified, concentrated protein product in vitro in a microfluidic device containing nucleic acids.

Many of the disadvantages of current interface devices can be overcome with LLNL’s novel interface design, which relies on area array distribution where independent interface connector subassemblies are positioned in a planar grid.  Not only is the interface device expandable area-wise (without increasing contact force), but it could also be expanded height-wise, with multiple layers of…

To replicate the physiology and functionality of tissues and organs, LLNL has developed an in vitro device that contains 3D MEAs made from flexible polymeric probes with multiple electrodes along the body of each probe. At the end of each probe body is a specially designed hinge that allows the probe to transition from lying flat to a more upright position when actuated and then…

LLNL’s high throughput method involves proteome-wide screening for linear B-cell epitopes using native proteomes isolated from a pathogen of interest and convalescent sera from immunized animals.

Commercial fiber optic cables are the current standard for carrying optical signals in industries like communications or medical devices. However, the fibers are made of glass, which do not have favorable characteristics for applications that require flexibility and re-routing, e.g. typically brittle, limited selection of materials, dimension constraints.

Solid-state distributed node-based rapid thermal cycler for extremely fast nucleic acid amplification (LLNL Internal Case # IL-12275, US Patent 8,720,209)

Laser heating of aqueous samples on a micro-optical-electro-mechanical system (LLNL Internal Case # IL-11719, US Patents 8,367,976;

LLNL researchers have designed a synthetic, concatemeric bacterial expression vector that expresses a protein sequence that can be digested into a single peptide. The synthetic protein is designed to be secreted outside E. coli cells, and therefore can be purified using a His-tag from the cell supernatant (thereby reducing the need to lyse the cells for purification).

LLNL scientists have created a technology that utilizes electrical means, instead of optical methods, to (1) provide label-free detection of droplet morphology; (2) manipulate droplet position through trapping and actuation; (3) track individual droplets in a heterogeneous droplet population; and (4) generate droplets with target characteristics automatically without optical intercession. The…

This device allows for observation of single cells encapsulated in droplets and provide the ability to recover droplets containing a cell of interest. This system provides the unique capability to monitor droplet contents from a few minutes to hours and overcome the limitations of the fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) in the purification of cell populations. The ability of this…

This invention consists of a functionalized membrane (e.g. polyethylene glycol (PEG)) and osmosis or electric potential as a driving force. The PEG membrane provides high biological particles separation and prevents sample for clogging due to the strong hydration of functional polymers layer and their resistance to protein adsorption.

This invention is an improved chromatography device that utilizes the concept of a functionally graded material (FGM) for separation of components. The technology consists of a device that contains a FGM that is patterned to have a gradient in material properties (e.g. chemical affinity, surface chemistry, chirality, pore size, etc.) normal to the direction of flow of the mobile phase. The…

The art described here incorporates a planar integrated optical system that allows for multiple biochemical assays to be run at the same time or nearly the same time. Briefly, each assay can include one or more tags (e.g. dyes, other chemicals, reagents) whose optical characteristics change based on chemical characteristics of the biological sample being tested.

This technology describes a method for partitioning fluid into “packets” between polymeric sheets. The fluid to be partitioned is introduced between two polymeric layers or within a polymeric channel and the layers are sealed together to form an array or sequence of individual milliliter to picoliter samples as shown in figure below. This approach allows a continuous flow of samples through…

LLNL researchers have developed a variation of AMS technology that improves sample preparation, analysis, and cost for AMS. The device involves depositing liquid samples on an indented moving wire and passing the moving wire through a combustion oven to convert the carbon content of samples to carbon dioxide gas in a helium stream. The gas is then directed via a capillary to a high efficiency…

LLNL has invented a new high-throughput assay for sample separation that uses the vibrations of a piezoelectric transducer to produce acoustic radiation forces within microfluidic channels. The system includes a separation channel for conveying a sample fluid containing the different size particles, an acoustic transducer and a recovery fluid stream. The polymeric films containing the…

LLNL researchers have developed an apparatus capable of measuring and recording ultraviolet radiation that uses the Schottky diode/ZnSe/metal type UV sensor. This device can detect both UV-A (320-400nm) and UV-B(280-320nm) radiation. The present invention can also measure and accumulate doses with good sensitivity, and it can also store and make available the readings to be downloaded for…

The invention developed by LLNL researchers proposes to use staged isotachophoresis to improve sample separation. One of the problems with isotachophoresis is that there is a tradeoff between the diameter of the separation column and the ability to isolate a species into a detectable band. For example, wider diameter channels run faster, but narrower channels provide better ability to isolate…

LLNL researchers have devolved a technique to separate or purify samples using electrophoretic separation. This invention corrects the problem associated with pH changes by using the electrode, which contacts the sample, itself a high-conductivity electrolyte made of liquid or gel materials. This will keep the metal surface electrochemistry physically remote from the sample, while…

Researchers at LLNL have developed a more efficient and cost-effective method and system for synthesizing a critical D-aminoluciferin precursor and related compounds. D-aminoluciferin is as active as luciferin and provides a free -NH2 group for functionalization to attach peptide sequences corresponding to the cleavage site of a protease. This allows for the synthesis of bioluminescent probes…

LLNL's technology employs improved sorting strategies related to chip-based droplet sorting. This technology uses electromagnetic fields and non-contact methods to sort and identify monodispersed water-in-oil emulsion droplets in a microfluidic chip-based device. The system selects individual droplets from a continuous stream based on optical or non-optical detection methods as…

Researchers at LLNL have developed a method to passively sort individual microdroplet samples of uniform size based on stiffness and viscosity. Unlike electrical or optical methods for droplet sorting, this apparatus does not require a measurement step. Instead, particle separation occurs through changes in shearing forces determined by the stiffness of the particles in the microdroplet sample…

LLNL researchers have created a method that uses isotachophoresis for the exclusion and or purification of nucleic acids. Isotachopheresis (ITP) is an electrophoretic separation technique that leverages a heterogeneous buffer system of disparate electrophoretic mobilities. The researchers created a transverse ITP system that offers high-throughput sample preparation as the amount of sample…

The steady-state phenomenon generates thousands of microdroplets per second which is a problem when the stream of droplets needs to be slowed down or stopped. LLNL technology provides a method for generating and trapping microdroplets at a desired location and subsequently stopping the stream of microdroplets without droplet coalescence. These microdroplets can then be chemically reacted,…

The present invention uses magnetic fields to hold particles in place for faster DNA amplification and sequencing. This invention provides a method for faster DNA sequencing by amplification of the genetic material within microreactors, denaturing and de-emulsifying and then sequencing the material while retaining it in the PCR/sequencing zone by a magnetic field. Briefly, nucleic acid…

This invention is designed to sort and identify complex samples using parallel nucleic acid characterization. By isolating single or double stranded nucleic acids derived from complex samples, researchers can sequence previously unknown genetic material to identify novel viruses and organisms. The chip-based microfluidic system achieves this through microdroplet PCR amplification,…

This technology is a photonic detection system developed by researchers at LLNL for the detection of biological or chemical threats with the intention of combining the collection, concentration and detection process onto a single platform. The present invention consists of a porous membrane containing flow-through photonic silicon crystals (see figure).

The described invention is a miniature fluidic device for separating particles suspended within a liquid sample that is introduced into the interior volume of the device. The device uses laminar flow and a combination of gravity and acoustic, electrophoretic, dielectrophoretic, and diffusion-based processes in concert to separate the different particle types and allow them to be collected…

Researchers at LLNL have developed a nanotube sensor (single-walled or multi-walled carbon nanotubes) enclosed within a highly selective lipid bilayer that can detect variations in ion transport using signal amplification generated from the disruption of protein pores across the lipid layer. Changes in the device’s transistor current are recorded by an external circuit with high efficiency as…

Researchers at LLNL have created a new technology for performing pumping and valving operations in microfabricated fluidic systems. Traditional microfabricated devices have some disadvantages that defeat the advantages of miniaturization. For example, they require high power and voltage, and they need specific fluids to work properly and to be broadly applicable. The technology described here…

LLNL has a successful history of developing instruments for detecting and characterizing airborne pathogens. Often, aerosol characterizing instruments require highly focused particle beams with little or no transmission losses. In addition, they need to interface to the sampling environment with a very high sampling rate so that more aerosol particles can be collected and sensitivity can be…

LLNL scientists have designed a rapid PCR technology that incorporates the use of microfluidic thermal heat exchanger systems and is comprised of a porous internal medium, with two outlet channels, two tanks, and one or more exchanger wells for sample receiving. The wells and their corresponding inlet channels are coupled to two tanks that contain fluid with cold and hot temperatures. A…

LLNL has developed a new technology that provides a method for near-instantaneous heating of aqueous samples in microfluidic devices. The technology relates to a heating method that employs microwave energy absorption from a coincident low power Co-planar waveguide or microwave microstrip transmission line embedded in a microfluidic channel to instantaneously heat samples. The method heat…

Researchers at LLNL have developed an instantaneous sample heating method to efficiently deposit thermal energy into a continuous stream or segmented microdroplets on a MOEMS device using an optimally low energy, commercially available CO2 laser. The device uses an ideal wavelength (absorption in the far infra-red (FIR) region (λ=10.6 μm)) to instantaneously heat fluidic partitions. The…

Researchers at LLNL have designed a new technology that allows the integration of a large bench-top thermal cycling instrument onto a miniaturized instrument. This instrument is powered and controlled by portable thumb-drive systems such as an USB. USB thumb-drives are commonly used to transfer data from the instrument onto a PC, however, in this new technology the thumb drive becomes the…

LLNL researchers have developed a high-volume, low-cost diagnostic test that is easy to use and provides results in under an hour. The testing platform will provide emergency responders and other medical professionals with the ability to screen individuals using oral and nasal samples, and obtain results in approximately 30 minutes. This point-of-care testing approach will enable rapid triage…

This technology describes a method for performing immediate in-line sample heating to promote the required chemical reactions for amplification, activation, or detection, depending on the thermodynamics of the particular assay involved. The basis of this technology is a method that employ microwave energy absorption to instantaneously heat fluidic partitions without heating the device itself…

LLNL researchers have developed a new method for faster, more accurate, and precise thermal control for DNA amplification. This technology uses sensor-controlled nodes to monitor and cycle materials through a microfluidic heat exchanging system. Thermal energy travels from a power module through thermal electric elements to sample wells. Sensors coupled to each sample well monitor and respond…

LLNL scientists developed novel hydrogels, which are biodegradable soft materials synthesized by a water-soluble polymer. Incorporating silver imparts antimicrobial activity to the material at low concentration compared to currently used silver nanoparticles. Our hydrogels are composed of silver ions instead of silver nanoparticles, which eliminates the toxicity concerns of modern silver…

LLNL scientists have created a standalone pathogen identifier that can be placed in public settings, such as in stores or on street corners. Not unlike an ATM in physical size, this kiosk will accept biological samples from an individual for multiplexed analysis. The sample collection process will be sufficiently simple such that anyone could begin the diagnostic process after making the…

LLNL researchers have invented a system for identifying all known and unknown pathogenic or non-pathogenic organisms in a sample. This invention takes a complex sample and generates droplets from it. The droplets consist of sub-nanoliter volume reactors which contain the organism sized particles. A lysis device lyses the organisms and releases the nucleic acids. An amplifier then magnifies the…

LLNL scientists have developed a battery-powered device which is low-cost and multi-chambered for the extraction and amplification of nucleic acids from environmental, clinical, and laboratory samples via loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP). This platform identifies pathogenic bacteria and assists in determining the optimal treatment plan. A multi-chamber amplification cartridge in…

This LLNL-developed invention is multiplexed and utilizes the Luminex bead-based liquid array, which contains 100 different unique beads. Oligonucleotide probes with sequences complementary to the target sequences are covalently coupled to these unique beads. These capture beads are mixed with viral samples obtained from the patient via cheek swabbing or a throat wash and subjected to PCR in a…

LLNL researchers have developed a method to quickly and accurately identify the family of a virus infecting a vertebrate via PCR. Universal primer sets consisting of short nucleic acid strands of 7 to 30 base pairs in length were created to amplify target sequences of viral DNA or RNA. These primers can amplify certain identifying sequences of all viral genomes sequenced to date as well as…

LLNL scientists have developed a high-confidence, real-time multiplexed reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) rule-out assay for foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV). It utilizes RT-PCR to amplify both DNA and RNA viruses in a single assay to detect FMDV as well as rule out other viruses that cause symptoms in livestock indistinguishable from those caused by FMDV, such as Bovine Herpes Virus-1 (…

LLNL scientists have developed a method to ensure the accuracy of that tomographic image by applying adaptive optics (AO) to OCT in a single instrument (AO-OCT). AO stabilizes the image being captured by the OCT device by utilizing a Hartmann-Shack wavefront sensor and a deformable mirror, a type of mirror designed to compensate for detected waveform abnormalities (such as ones caused by a…

LLNL researchers have developed a portable device which analyzes one or multiple types of body fluids or gases to test for one or more medical conditions. A bodily fluid (such as blood, perspiration, saliva, breath, or urine) is put into a condenser surface and is then separated into both a primarily gas fluid component and a second one that is primarily liquid. These two samples from the same…

LNLL scientists have invented a method for multiplexed detection of PCR amplified products which can be completed in a single step. Highly validated species-specific primer sets are used to simultaneously amplify multiple diagnostic regions unique to each individual pathogen. Resolution of the mix of amplified products is achieved by PCR product hybridization to corresponding probe sequences,…

Livermore Lab's SBC grating optics benefit from the combination of the following key technologies:

• LLNL proprietary optical coating designs utilizing >100 thin film layers – enables ultra-low-loss, ppm transmission levels through the coating, high diffraction efficiency, and large bandwidth.
• LLNL proprietary dispersive surface relief structure…

Monolithic Telescopes are a novel implementation of a solid catadioptric design form, instantiated in a monolithic block of fused silica.

The LLNL method for optimizing as built optical designs uses insights from perturbed optical system theory and reformulates perturbation of optical performance in terms of double Zernikes, which can be calculated analytically rather than by tracing thousands of rays. A new theory of compensation is enabled by the use of double Zernikes which allows the performance degradation of a perturbed…

LLNL researchers have developed a custom resin formulation which uses a dispersing solvent and only a multifunctional monomer as the binding agent. The dispersing solvent system typically used has multiple components meant to achieve excellent dispersal of silica in order to create a flowable resin (rather than a paste). The dispersing agent has low vapor pressure, which allows the 3D printed…

LLNL has developed a brain-on-a-chip system with a removable cell-seeding funnel to simultaneously localize neurons from various brain regions in an anatomically relevant manner and over specific electrode regions of a MEA. LLNL’s novel, removable cell seeding funnel uses a combination of 3D printing and microfabrication that allows neurons from select brain regions to easily be seeded into…

LLNL’s BioBriefcase is a compact and portable instrument capable of autonomously detecting the full spectrum of bioagents, including bacteria, viruses and toxins in the air. It uses the state of art technologies to collect, process, and analyze samples to detect, and identify genetic and protein signatures of bioagents.

LLNL has developed a novel process of production, isolation, characterization, and functional re-constitution of membrane-associated proteins in a single step. In addition, LLNL has developed a colorimetric assay that indicates production, correct folding, and incorporation of bR into soluble nanolipoprotein particles (NLPs).

LLNL has developed an approach, for formation of NLP/…

Using various excitation wavelengths, a hyperspectral microscope takes advantage of autofluorescence and polarized light scattering from cellular components to obtain composite images that highlight their presence. The light collection efficiency is maximized to achieve image acquisition times and rates suitable for in vivo applications.

LLNL is developing the Space-based Telescopes for Actionable Refinement of Ephemeris (STARE). STARE is a constellation of low cost nano-satellites (less than 5Kg) in low-earth orbit dedicated to the observation of space debris in conjunction with a ground-based infrastructure for maintenance, coordination and data processing. Each nano-satellite in the constellation is capable of recording an…

This technology uses either of two X-ray wave-front sensor techniques, Hartmann sensing and two-dimensional shear interferometry, both of which are capable of measuring the entire two-dimensional electric field, both the amplitude and the phase, with a single measurement. Capturing both the absorption and phase coefficients of the index of refraction can help to reconstruct the image.…

The selected industrial partner and LLNL will enter into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) to develop the next generation of laser technologies for MEGa-ray systems and to create a next generation of MEGa-ray sources that could be marketed to both the industrial and academic communities.

The MEGa-ray system developed will be based on LLNL's proprietary, multi-…

The new LLNL technique works by transiently removing and trapping concrete or rock surface material, so that contaminants are confined in a manner that is easy to isolate and remove. Our studies suggest that 10 m² of surface could be processed per hour. The technique easily scales to more surface/hr.

LLNL's Slurry Stabilization Method provides a chemical means of stabilizing a polishing compound in suspension at working concentrations without reducing the rate of material removal. The treated product remains stable for many months in storage.

LLNL has developed a technology that provides near-instantaneous heating of aqueous samples in microfluidic devices. The method heats samples in a focused area within a microfluidic channel on miniaturized chips. The microwave heating device is composed of a waveguide or microstrip transmission line embedded in a microfluidic channel. Aqueous solution microwave heating allows extremely fast…

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists have developed a signal enhancing microchip apparatus and method that enhances a microfluidic detector's limits by magnetically focusing the target analytes in a zone of optical convergence. In summary, samples are associated with magnetic nanoparticles or magnetic polystyrene coated beads and moved down the flow channels until they are trapped…

The biotech industry aims to move towards an on-chip system for sample generation, amplification and detection of both DNA and RNA based organisms. LLNL has invented a new way of isolating samples in a system.

This invention enables creation of partitioned fluid "packets" between polymeric sheets for chemical separation, DNA amplification or PCR-based DNA detection. The polymeric…