Executive Summary
A 2008 report by the International Chamber of Commerce valued the counterfeit market at $650 billion and was expected to rise to $1.7 trillion in eight years. There is large safety concern with many counterfeit products, especially pharmaceuticals and toys manufactured with toxic agents. Researchers at Michigan State University have developed a simple and inexpensive nanoparticle DNA-based barcode system to track and reliably confirm the identity and authenticity of items such as pharmaceutical products, imported foods, electronics, textiles, currency, credit cards, passports, and many other legal documents and goods.
Description of Technology
Metal nanoparticles are coated with unique DNA sequences of various base lengths that can act as barcodes for product authentication, product serialization, brand protection, track-and-trace, intelligent supply chain, and law enforcement. The nanoparticle-DNA (nano-DNA) barcodes can be integrated into the product itself or into inks, dyes, labels and other markings at all production levels to encode company and product-specific information. The nano-DNA can be authenticated using a simple, low-cost electrochemical biosensor device. This allows for field-operability, quick results, and inexpensive operation unlike other DNA-based anti-counterfeiting technologies that require expensive PCR machines and highly skilled lab personnel to operate.
Key Benefits
Applications
Patent Status:
Issued US patents 9,810,659 and 10,451,579
Licensing Rights Available
Full licensing rights available.
Inventors: Evangelyn Alocilja
Tech ID: TEC2013-0074