A large bundle of UCSB patents has recently become available for licensing. Our researchers isolated pseudopterosin compounds from soft corals that can be useful as anti-inflammatory, burn treatment and analgesic agents or to treat tissue healing. These compounds can also be used as over-the-counter treatments for rashes and other skin conditions or as cosmetics to minimize allergic reactions.

A Non-Confidential Description of this portfolio can be downloaded below. For more information please contact Franco Caporale at caporale@research.ucsb.edu or 805-893-2073.

Non-Confidential Description_Anti-Inflammatory Portfolio

Dr. Daniel Morse is using techniques borrowed from nature to create superior technologies.

Questions by Sander Olson. Answers by Daniel Morse

Tell us about yourself. What is your background, and on what projects are you currently working?

I am currently the Wilcox Professor of Biotechnology, Professor of Biomolecular Science and Engineering and Director of the UCSB-MIT-Caltech Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. I received my BA in biochemistry from Harvard, and my PhD in molecular biology from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. I was a professor of molecular genetics and microbiology at Harvard before becoming a faculty member at the University of California. I am widely known as the founder of “silicon biotechnology”. My research focuses on using biotechnology and molecular genetics to dissect the molecular mechanisms that underlie complex biological processes, such as energy and information processing and nanofabrication, and then “translating” the resulting information to develop new routes to high-performance materials with complex functionality.

How can learning natural processes allow us to improve existing technologies?

By studying the underlying mechanisms inherent in natural processes we can transfer this knowledge into what I refer to as “hard engineering”. In other words, we endeavor to discover the chemical and physical principles that provide the unique advantages inherent in natural processes, such as shell formation and silica biosynthesis, and to then translate these processes into making useful products. Since most biological molecules such as proteins are heat labile, natural processes are typically low temperature. By contrast, most modern production methods require costly high-temperature operation.

Describe your research into semiconductors. Can semiconductors be made by mimicking biological processes?

Our research shows that semiconductors need not be made using expensive, high-temperature processes. We have been able to make a wide variety of semiconductors in the form of nanostructured thin-films and nanoparticles – many with forms or structures that could not be achieved by conventional high-temperature methods. Nanostructured thin films have high surface area and other properties advantageous for energy applications. We can control the growth of these nanostructures kinetically – by using regulated catalysis instead of heat. This is what happens in biology, and this process allows us to make materials that could not be made using conventional manufacturing.

What other technologies besides semiconductors could potentially benefit from these low-temperature biologically inspired techniques?

We envision a number of products that could be significantly improved by using these processes. We could create safe, energy-dense batteries for hybrid vehicles, more efficient and less costly solar cells, better catalysts, improved infrared detectors and adaptive optical materials.

Describe your research into abalone shells. Why are these shells instructive to the field of nanotechnology?

Abalone shells are composed primarily of calcium carbonate – chalk – yet are 3,000 times more fracture resistant than simple calcium carbonate. The shell is tough enough to drive nails, and our team wanted to discover the underlying mechanisms that made such a strong material out of such a weak and brittle mineral. We examined the structure of abalone shells, which are composed of alternating layers of minerals interspersed with gossamer thin protein sheets. We discovered that the self-assembly of these nanostructured films of protein creates a series of nanopores. These nanopores act as a molecular stencil to guide the growth of the crystalline material from one layer to the next. Researchers previously thought that abalone shells were made in a manner similar to the way plywood is made – one layer at a time. But we discovered that the mineral is growing continuously through many layers, through these protein sheets. Furthermore, the abalone shell composite is self-healing. It resists cracking, and heals microcracks by employing molecular “sacrificial bonds” which reform when severed. We subsequently discovered that this mechanism is important in bone as well.

More recently, you have done work on silica nanostructures. Why are these important?

Our more recent research is based on the mechanism we discovered biology uses to create intricate skeletal structures made of silica. Certain marine sponges essentially have glass skeletons. In some cases these are simply glass needles, in other cases they are complex and beautiful structures that almost seem to be woven out of fiberglass. We discovered that the cells of the sponge have an enzyme that facilitates the low temperature synthesis of these glass needles – the enzyme acts as both a catalyst and a template. We discovered a way to replace the enzyme and create semiconducting crystals with a modification of this low temperature, low cost, and efficient process. Unlike conventional semiconductor fabrication techniques, which are quite expensive, we can make semiconductors from water and aqueous solutions.

Will any commercial products from your research emerge within the next five years?

We believe that this technique could have myriad commercial applications, including electrical storage batteries, photovoltaics, improved infrared detectors, better medical ultrasonic imaging, and catalysts. For instance, we have created excellent high surface-area electrodes from the metal oxides we have made, and this could result in substantially more efficient batteries. We should also be able to make extremely inexpensive integrated circuits, although these chips might not be suitable for high-performance microprocessors. With regard to solar voltaics, we are just developing the first prototypes, but we should be able to use these technologies to inexpensively create highly efficient solar cells. The first commercial applications could emerge within the next five years.

What institutions are funding your research? Are any corporations providing financing?

We are part of the Very High Efficiency Solar Cell (VHESC) program at DARPA, which may be the world’s largest solar R&D program. We also receive funding from several other Government agencies, including the Department of Energy, the US Army Research Office, the National Science Foundation, NASA and the Department of Commerce.

More information on the VESC program can be found at: http://www.darpa.gov/sto/solicitations/vhesc/proposers.htm

More information on the US Army Research Office can be found at: http://www.arl.army.mil/www/default.cfm?Action=29&Page=29

More information on the National Science Foundation can be found at: http://www.nsf.gov/

More information on the NOAA can be found at: http://www.noaa.gov/

More information on the Department of Energy can be found at: http://www.energy.gov/

We are also collaborating with several high-technology firms aiming to develop specific applications of our technology.

Outside of your own work, what excites you the most today, in small and advanced technologies?

I am fascinated by the potential of biotech to reveal and mimic high-efficiency processes that have evolved from millennia of biological evolution. Natural processes are constrained by both a limited set of materials with which to work, and low temperature processes, yet they result in materials and systems with amazing properties. The close integration between molecular biology, physics, chemistry, and device engineering is particularly exciting.
How do you see your research advancing during the next decade?

During the next decade, the seeds of current bionanotechnology research will begin to bear fruit in practical devices. Some devices, such as biosensors, are easy to predict, because such devices employ engineered biomolecules that are absolutely necessary for molecular recognition. But the energy field could be transformed by the nanobio research we are conducting. For instance, if we could inexpensively mass-produce solar cells that were 50% efficient, that would radically transform the energy equation. Similarly, fuel cells have enormous untapped potential. This could easily be a multi-billion dollar industry within a decade.

(Source: The Nanotech Company)

Cyberlux Corporation (OTC Bulletin Board: CYBL), a developer and manufacturer of solid- state lighting solutions, announced that the Company has completed the valuation process of its Hybrid White Light (HWL) and its Hybrid Color Light (HCL) by an independent third party. The value in its “proof of concept” or pre-commercialization state was estimated at 5.0 million dollars, almost twice the current market capitalization of the company. Adding to that the EverOn valuation from second quarter 2006, worth 4.8 million, the current IP portfolio valuation for Cyberlux is approaching a conservative ten million dollars, more than five times the current market value of the security.

“This partial valuation reflects both a segment of our existing product line, as well as our one-of-a-kind lighting technology that is exclusively licensed and proprietarily owned by Cyberlux Corporation,” said Mark Schmidt, President and COO of Cyberlux. “Having both our flagship retail product, the EverOn, and our innovative HWL and HCL technology valued was an important step toward presenting our intellectual properties in a proper context. As our patent values increase in parallel with generation of higher revenues, we become a much more valuable company to the benefit of our shareholders. We recognize the significant effort required in reaching our ultimate goals, but we are encouraged with the progress to date,” added Schmidt.

In November 2006, Cyberlux acquired the worldwide exclusive rights to the pending patents for the Scattered Photon Extraction(TM) technology and methods developed at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The SPE technology enables light-emitting sources to operate at a higher luminous efficacy where traditional phosphor or downconversion materials such as luminescence polymers and/or organic films as defined by University of California – Santa Barbara patent 5,966,393 are placed at locations remote from the photon-emitting solid-state inorganic light source.

In January 2007, the Company acquired the worldwide exclusive rights to patent 5,966,393 “Hybrid Light-Emitting Sources for Efficient and Cost Effective White Lighting and for Full-Color Applications” from the University of California – Santa Barbara. The technology patent defines the method and practice for creating a white or multi-colored lighting source by combining the photoluminescence of polymers and/or organic films with photon emissions from a solid-state inorganic light source. The principle inventors include Nobel Laureate Dr. Alan Heeger and Dr. Steven DenBaars, Professor of Materials and Co-Director of the Solid-State Lighting Center at the University of California-Santa Barbara, who will advise the Company on the hybrid organic/inorganic lighting technology commercialization.

The EverOn contains 6 bright white and 4 amber diodal(tm) lighting elements that never require replacement. The EverOn has three light settings including a low, nightlight level; a medium, room-filling light level; and a high, spotlight level. The EverOn builds on the Cyberlux patent for lighting systems capable of generating long-term interim lighting, including the lighting device and associated methods for providing emergency or temporary lighting. Specifically, the patent addresses an electrochemical lighting system capable of providing prolonged illumination with the use of light emitting diodes (LEDs) as the illumination source. The patent embodies lighting devices capable of providing long-term interim lighting via an array of LEDs, the means for providing electrical energy to the LED array, the capability of multi-level light intensity consistent with light longevity and power source relationships including conventional A/C, solar, various electrochemical assemblies or all other means of electrical energy support.

About Cyberlux Corporation
Cyberlux Corporation (OTC Bulletin Board: CYBL) has created breakthrough LED lighting technology that provides the most energy efficient and cost effective lighting solutions available today for consumer, commercial and military uses. The Aeon products bring the newly developed, virtually heatless light into the home for use in closets, cabinet interiors and under cabinet lighting for kitchen counters. The Military and Homeland Security products deliver unique, covert, and advanced visible lighting capability for threat detection, force and asset protection. Cyberlux uses solid-state semiconductors, trademarked as its diodal(tm) lighting elements, which consume 75% less energy than incandescent lighting elements and perform for over 20 years in contrast to 750 hours for conventional bulbs. For more information, please visit http://www.cyberlux.com.

(from Carolinanewswire.com )

In his lab facing the Pacific Ocean, Daniel Morse, professor of molecular genetics and biochemistry at UCSB, is learning new ways to build complex semiconductor devices for cheaper, more efficient solar cells. Using clues gleaned from marine sponges, he has developed a method of synthesizing semiconducting materials with useful structures and novel electronic properties. The first applications could be ways to make materials for morepowerful batteries and highly efficient solar cells at a lower price.

“We are accessing structures that in some cases had never been achieved before. And in some cases we’re discovering electronic properties that had never been known before for that class of materials,” says Dr. Morse. The method works with a wide variety of materials. So far, he says, the group has made “30 different kinds of oxides, hydroxides, and phosphates.” The method works at low temperatures, about room temperature, whereas conventional techniques for making semiconducting thin films require a high-temperatures – 400 degrees Celsius, Morse says. It also does not require oft-used harsh acids and bases. Inaddition to making the process cheaper and easier, the mild conditions could lead to devices that incorporate materials that would be impossible to use with conventional processes.

Sometimes, for example, the materials that can be used in a device are limited by the high temperatures used to make the materials. “If you can make them all at room temperature, then you may be able to dope them with dopants that you normally couldn’t use at high temperature,” says Angela Belcher, materials science and engineering and biological engineering professor at MIT, who finds Morse’s work “very exciting.”

(from Technology Review – MIT)

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