An expensive piece of research equipment was delivered to Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in April—thanks to an arrangement with an instrument manufacturer that is interested in commercializing a device developed at PNNL to increase the sensitivity of analytical instruments.

The Electrodynamic Ion Funnel is a revolutionary development that focuses ions in gases, greatly improving the sensitivity (by 40-80 times) of analytical devices such as mass spectrometers that depend on ion formation and transfer in the presence of gases. It can be easily retrofitted to existing equipment.

In January, Battelle executed a non-exclusive license for the PNNL-developed ion funnel and related technology with a leading commercial analytical instrument manufacturer. As part of the arrangement, the licensee sent one of its time-of-flight mass spectrometers to PNNL so researchers can spend about nine months adapting the patented technology to the instrument and assessing performance gains. Time-of-flight mass spectrometers typically cost between $400,000 and $600,000 and are frequently used in biological research.

“Over the years, our researchers have developed analytical tools that help them do their research, such as the ion funnel, which won an R&D 100 award in 1999,” Harrer said. “In the process, they have made improvements in these tools and some of those improvements have been commercialized.”

The ion funnel was originally developed in 1995 as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science Laboratory Technology Research Program. “The intent of the program was to develop commercially useful technology through cost-shared partnerships with private companies” Harrer said.

Under the terms of the license, Battelle has the option to keep the time-of-flight mass spectrometer for research at PNNL after the testing period. The agreement is similar to a previous agreement with another instrument manufacturer in which Battelle technology was adapted to a liquid chromatography mass spectrometer. The liquid chromatography mass spectrometer, valued at about $200,000, is now permanently available for use in PNNL research programs.

Contact: Pamela Harrington, 509-375-4506, Email: Pamela.Harrington@pnl.gov

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