Wisconsin Patent of the Month – April 2021
When a species is introduced to a foreign environment and spreads extensively, they are considered invasive. These invasive species can negatively impact the environment – for instance, the Asian Carp spread up the Mississippi River and have crowded native fish populations and killed off freshwater mussels. There are currently four registered fish toxicants which can be used to control aquatic invasive organisms. Two of these toxicants are not viable for carps. The other two are non-selective and would impact all species in the region. WiSys Technology Foundation, Inc. have designed a microparticle fabricator which can help manage this invasive species.
WiSys has found antimycin A to maintain toxicity within the gut, making it an ideal candidate for chemical control. Asian Carp are filter feeders, meaning they take in suspended particles rather than hunt individual prey. They designed a device that is capable of delivering this chemical using spray atomization. The device uses a nozzle to atomize liquefied droplet material. These droplets are then suspended in a cyclonic separator and receive refrigerated gas until they solidify. This method produces the droplets in bulk without clumping. These particles are less than 100 μm in size, and are made of talc, sorbitan, palmitate, and beeswax and deliver 4 mg of antimycin A per 100 mg of particle. Through tests, they found the atomizer and microparticle efficient at impacting Asian Carp without impacting other fish such as Largemouth Bass or Grass Carp.
Are you developing new technology for an existing application? Did you know your development work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? Even if your development isn’t successful your work may still qualify for R&D credits (i.e. you don’t need to have a patent to qualify). To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.
Who We Are:
Swanson Reed is one of the U.S.’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firms. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program, from claim preparation and audit compliance to claim disputes.
Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs. For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.org/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.
