1st Detect, an Astrotech Subsidiary, Strengthens IP Portfolio
September 27 2016 - 7:05AM
Business Wire
Granted U.S. Patent for fast, highly
sensitive chemical analysis without sample preparation
1st Detect Corporation, a subsidiary of Astrotech Corporation
(NASDAQ: ASTC), announced the United States Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a key patent for increasing the
performance of the company’s unique ion trap mass spectrometer used
for chemical analysis and detection. 1st Detect’s total patent
count is now 17 U.S. and 6 international issued, and 7 U.S. and 10
international pending.
“This patented technology enables 1st Detect to analyze without
sample preparation at high levels of sensitivity and speed, and
opens new markets,” said Thomas B. Pickens III, CEO of 1st Detect.
“Some potential applications include breath analysis, explosives
detection, chemical warfare agent detection and detection of
various trace impurities in a sample.”
U.S. Patent No. 9,451,364, entitled “Preconcentrating a Sample
in a Preconcentrator Evacuated to Substantially the Same Pressure
as an Analytical Device,” represents a key technological advantage
for 1st Detect to miniaturize mass spectrometers yet retain the
ability to analyze a wide variety of compounds at extremely low
concentrations, in under a minute.
1st Detect’s preconcentrator is an inlet to its mass
spectrometer, used to concentrate the chemical signal in order to
lower the limit of detection for trace chemical signals. This
patent protects the technique and design aspect of using evacuation
of a preconcentrator tube in order to bridge the vacuum barrier
into a mass spectrometer, increasing concentration efficiency.
1st Detect Corporation has developed an instrument that
revolutionizes the chemical detection and analysis market by
delivering laboratory performance mass spectrometry in a small,
affordable and portable package. The 1st Detect chemical analyzer
utilizes core technology that is fast, highly sensitive and
accurate. The unit is capable of detecting a wide variety of
chemicals including residues and vapors from explosives, chemical
warfare agents, toxic chemicals, food and beverage contaminants,
and pollutants. These capabilities, combined in an economically
priced solution, make it an ideal tool for a variety of
applications in the research, security, industrial, process flow
and healthcare markets.
About 1st Detect Corporation
1st Detect, a subsidiary of Astrotech Corporation (NASDAQ:
ASTC), develops, manufactures, and sells powerful, highly
sensitive, and accurate mass spectrometers that are used in
explosive and chemical warfare detection for the Department of
Homeland Security and the military. The 1st Detect technology can
also be used in various medical and industrial applications
including breath analysis, leak detection and food and beverage
manufacturing. These capabilities, combined in an economically
priced, transportable, and ruggedized solution, make it an
ideal tool for a variety of applications. For more information on
1st Detect Corporation, please visit www.1stDetect.com.
About Astrotech Corporation
Astrotech Corporation (NASDAQ: ASTC) is an innovative science
and technology company that invents, acquires, and commercializes
technological innovations sourced from research institutions,
laboratories, universities, and internally, and then funds,
manages, and builds proprietary, scalable start-up companies for
profitable divestiture to market leaders to maximize shareholder
value. Sourced from Oak Ridge Laboratory’s chemical analyzer
research, 1st Detect develops, manufactures,
and sells powerful, highly sensitive, and accurate mass
spectrometers that can be used in explosive and chemical warfare
detection for the Department of Homeland Security and the military.
Sourced from decades of image research from the laboratories of IBM
and Kodak combined with classified satellite technology from
government laboratories, Astral Images sells film to digital
image enhancement, defect removal and color correction software,
and post processing services providing economically feasible
conversion of television and feature 35mm and 16mm films to the new
4K ultra-high definition (UHD), high-dynamic range (HDR) format
necessary for the new generation of digital distribution. Sourced
from NASA’s extensive microgravity research, Astrogenetix is
applying a fast-track on-orbit discovery platform using the
International Space Station to develop vaccines and other
therapeutics. Demonstrating its entrepreneurial strategy, Astrotech
management sold its state-of-the-art satellite servicing operations
to Lockheed Martin in August 2014. Astrotech has operations
throughout Texas and is headquartered in Austin. For information,
please visit www.astrotechcorp.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are
made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking
statements are subject to risks, trends, and uncertainties that
could cause actual results to be materially different from the
forward-looking statement. These factors include, but are not
limited to, whether we can successfully develop our proprietary
technologies and whether the market will accept our products and
services, as well as other risk factors and business considerations
described in the Company’s Securities and Exchange Commission
filings including the annual report on Form 10-K. Any
forward-looking statements in this document should be evaluated in
light of these important risk factors. The Company assumes no
obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160927005540/en/
Company Contact:Astrotech CorporationRaj Mellacheruvu,
512-485-9530Chief Operating OfficerorIR Contact:LHA Investor
RelationsCathy Mattison and Kirsten Chapman,
415-433-3777ir@astrotechcorp.com
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