Army invention identifies protein-based materials for future military technology
Binding agents are a key ingredient in the development of many important Army technologies and platforms, including applications in material repair and energetic composites. However, the Army’s ability to find new and better protein binding agents was hindered by the limitations of the existing research tools, which made the process slow and cumbersome.
This problem spurred ARL scientists to invent Kappa(k)Chip, a microfluidic device that enables researchers to find the right proteins for specific binding applications much faster than before. Users can apply the device directly on the metal surface of ships, planes or other platforms to test how well thousands of different proteins stick to the surface to identify the best proteins for adhesion.
“Current screening technologies are rudimentary and very time-consuming,” said Dr. Jose Wippold, ARL bioengineer and co-inventor. “We created the kappa(k)Chip, which is specifically designed to reduce the time to discovery, to match the pace of Army transformation.”
According to Wippold, the kappa(K)Chip can screen billions of protein candidates about 24 times faster, as well as 200 times more cost-efficiently, than the current methods available.
An accompanying software analysis tool employs artificial intelligence to process the large volume of complex image data generated by the kappa(k)Chip. “With kappa(k)Chip, you can now get done one month’s worth of experiments in one day,” Wippold said. “This device will dramatically reduce the time and money spent on finding the composite polymers and binders that the Army needs for its strategic mission.”
Category: Chemicals & Materials
