LAWRENCE LIVERMORE NATIONAL LABORATORY SEEKS PARTNERSHIPS WITH INDUSTRY TO FURTHER DEVELOP AND COMMERCIALIZE ASUB-MICROGRAM WEIGHING DEVICE BASED ON ION ENERGY LOSS Announcement: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), operated by the University of California under contract with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is seeking one or more industrial partners to commercialize LLNL's Sub-micron Weighing Device by Ion Energy Loss technology. Most biological laboratories use microgram balances for weighing small amounts of material, such as peptides and proteins. Microgram balances are sensitive to vibrations, humidity and static electric fields, and require frequent calibration. LLNL’s technology for weighing by ion energy loss eliminates these concerns and has been shown to be robust and routinely achieving a lower limit of quantitation better than 0.5 microgram. The technology presents a significant improvement over existing sub-microgram balances in reliability and ease of use, and would appeal to analytical and biological laboratories anywhere routinely working with small amounts of precious material, such as in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries and university research laboratories. The weighing device can be made to mimic conventional balances for individual samples, or scaled up to a 96 or 384-well microtiter format for high-throughput applications. The components for the measurement apparatus are commercially available from several manufacturers and the disposable sample holders can be made from inexpensive plastics. The technology is the subject of U.S. Patent 6,844,543 and pending patents. The weighing device consists of a dedicated alpha spectrometer, software and disposable plastic microcentrifuge tubes or microtiter plates carrying samples on an integrated thin polymer film. Two recent publications in the peer-reviewed journal Analytical Chemistry also describe the technology: ”Particle Energy Loss Measurement of Microgram Depositions of Biomolecules” [http://pubs.acs.org/cgibin/article.cgi/ancham/2003/75/i17/pdf/ac034170g.pdf]; and “Mass by Energy Loss Quantitation as a Practical Submicrogram Balance” [http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/article.cgi/ancham/2005/77/i03/pdf/ac048560u.pdf]. Additional information on the technology and its potential applications can be obtained at the Mass by Ion Energy Loss Website. LLNL is seeking licensees with a demonstrated ability to bring such technology to the market. Moving critical technology beyond the Laboratory to the commercial world helps our U.S. licensees gain a competitive edge in the marketplace. The University of California’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory can license technology through exclusive or nonexclusive licensing agreements, as appropriate. All projects are conducted under policies relating to the strict nondisclosure of company proprietary information. Note: THIS IS NOT A PROCUREMENT. Companies interested in commercializing LLNL's sub-microgram balance based on ion energy loss should provide a written statement of interest, which includes the following: 1. Company Name and address. 2. The name, address, and telephone number of a point of contact. 3. A description of corporate expertise and facilities relevant to commercializing this technology. Written responses should be directed to: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Industrial Partnerships and Commercialization P.O. Box 808, L-795 Livermore, CA 94551-0808 Attention: FBO 104-05 Please provide your written statement within thirty (30) days from the date this announcement is published to ensure consideration of your interest in LLNL's sub-microgram balance based on ion energy loss.

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