DOD Awards Microchip Biotechnologies SBIR Phase II For Biodefense Device

DUBLIN, Calif., April 5 /PRNewswire/ -- The US Department of Defense, through its Army Edgewood Chemical and Biological Center (ECBC), has awarded Microchip Biotechnologies Inc. (MBI), of Dublin, CA, a $365,000 SBIR Phase II one year contract to continue development of its NanoBioSentinel(TM) for a hand-held nanofluidic device to detect biowarfare agents. The prototype will include functionality for sample concentration, preparation, and processing. The award is renewable for a second year for a further $365,000, bringing the total potential value of the contract to $730,000.

The objective of the NanoBioSentinel effort is to design, build, test and commercialize an advanced nanofluidic, microchip-based, automated nucleic acid and immunoassay analyzer. The NanoBioSentinel will input liquid samples from aerosol samplers, wipes and other sources and will implement bead-based techniques to capture and purify target organisms. Following capture and cleanup, two orthogonal analyses will be performed on-chip to detect threats at extremely low false positive rates.

"This Phase II award validates MBI's vision for the NanoBioSentinel, an integrated solution that will both prepare and analyze bioagent samples at great sensitivity," said Stevan Jovanovich, MBI's President and CEO. "It will exploit nanofluidics to enable multi-dimensional analysis with excellent sensitivities and exquisitely low false alarm rates. This award validates the strong technical progress made during the Phase I SBIR project."

About MBI: Microchip Biotechnologies Inc. is an early-stage, privately-held company located in Dublin, California that is developing advanced nanofluidic sample preparation and analytical instrumentation for the Genomics and Biodefense markets. These solutions are based on MBI's proprietary NanoBioProcessor(TM) platform. More details can be found on the Company's website: www.microchipbiotech.com.

Microchip Biotechnologies Inc.

CONTACT: Dr. Barney E. Saunders, Chief Operating Officer of MicrochipBiotechnologies, Inc., +1-925-558-2028, or fax, +1-925-558-2156, orbarney.saunders@microchipbiotech.com

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