Latest technologies from PARTEQ Innovations

Optoelectronic Materials: Facile Method Enables Exploration of New Organic-Soluble Graphene

info@parteqinnovations.com — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 12:19:39 GMT

Technology Description: An exciting method has been discovered that enables facile synthesis of novel azaborine (i.e., nitrogen and boron containing) compounds. These new compounds include polycyclic aromatic molecules (e.g., graphene-like novel compounds) wherein a number of benzene rings have been replaced by six-membered rings in which a boron-nitrogen group takes the place of a carbon-carbon group. This replacement provides a family of compounds that solve the problem of graphene’s insolubility in organic solvents. These soluble compounds share some properties w...

Vaginal Sensor (Pelvic Floor Muscle PFM Probe)

info@parteqinnovations.com — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 13:10:15 GMT

Description: Urinary incontinence affects almost 20 million people in the United States alone and almost 200 million worldwide. Women are twice as likely as men to experience incontinence with over 40% having stress incontinence (SI) and 45% having mixed incontinence (stress/urge). Most cases of stress incontinence in women are due to weakened pelvic floor muscles. An important part of first-line treatment for SI can be the training of these pelvic floor muscles. This can be accomplished by a number of methods including biofeedback training. Current ...

Novel Breast Milk Peptides

info@parteqinnovations.com — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 08:44:49 GMT

Novel Human Breast Milk Peptides for Treating Neonatal Diseases Description: Our investigators have identified novel peptides from mother’s breast milk. These peptides are pleiotropic in their benefits: they possess potent antioxidant properties, anti-inflammatory, possess beneficial immunomodulatory effects and demonstrate antiviral properties. These peptides could be very useful in a number of diseases but have shown great promise in treating premature infants – both nutritionally and therapeutically. Premature infants in the neonatal...

Diabetic Fertility Treatment

info@parteqinnovations.com — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 05:52:10 GMT

Description: Infertility is a large and growing issue in the Western world as the birth rate slows down and our population’s age. It is estimated that there are almost 13 million infertile women in Europe and US. In 2010 fertility drugs represented a $1.7 billion market mainly including generic and underperforming medications. Our researchers have found a new treatment that has vast potential for treating infertility across the whole treatment paradigm. This includes treating diseases related to causing infertility and the current last hope for...

Novel Treatment for Type 2 Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome

info@parteqinnovations.com — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 08:12:09 GMT

Description: Type II Diabetes (T2D) is a large and growing global medical problem. It is estimated that there are over 347 million diabetics worldwide with the US having the largest population, exceeding 36 million. The generic diabetes drug metformin was prescribed almost 50 million times in 2010 and total US anti-diabetes drug sales were $16.9 billion in the same year. Despite recent launches of new branded drugs there remains great unmet need in this patient population. We have identified a novel use for an existing generic drug – treating T2D and met...

Novel Dual Actions Compounds for Treating Diabetic Neuropathy

info@parteqinnovations.com — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 11:14:54 GMT

Description: Diabetic neuropathy is found in 10-60% of diabetics, both type I and II. Gabapentin (Neurontin) and pregabalin (Lyrica) are leading drugs used to treat diabetic neuropathy. Both of these drugs are inhibitors of the alpha2-delta1 subunit of voltage-gated calcium channels. Lyrica had sales in excess of $3.7 billion in 2011. Despite widespread use, these drugs lack reasonable efficacy and have side-effect issues. Furthermore, neither drug is reported to benefit the underlying cause of the diabetic neuropathy – the diabetes its...

FPGA Architecture

info@parteqinnovations.com — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 11:11:09 GMT

As semiconductor technology advances, Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) technology continues to lag custom silicon by a significant factor. FPGAs occupy a small portion of the semiconductor market, being limited by high power consumptions, and relatively low logic capacity compared with ASICs. The ultimate goal in the FPGA industry is to offer a programmable device that has can compete with ASICs in power, performance and cost. A solution to the programmable logic performance barrier has been discovered by researchers at Princeton University in Pri...

Calibration Free Eye Gaze Secure Entry System

info@parteqinnovations.com — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 11:32:56 GMT

Biometric security systems are highly secure, however they are costly and may be considered an invasion of privacy by employees. Manual keypad and proximity devices are more user friendly, however their security capability is often lacking. With the current product mix for secured access systems, a product line featuring secured access based on eye-gaze detection can be introduced to fill the space between biometric reader devices and devices based on electronic keypads, proximity devices, or cards. Researchers in the School of Computing at Queen's University in Kingston Ontario Canada h...

Low Cost Current-Source Gate Driver

info@parteqinnovations.com — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 14:18:55 GMT

Current source gate drivers provide greatly improved power converter performance compared to standard voltage mode drivers, but they typically require 4 on-chip MOSFETs to control each power MOSFET, making the drivers more costly. Researchers in the department of Electrical Engineering at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada have developed a low cost current source gate driver that provides excellent performance while requiring only 2 MOSFETs per power switch. This driver has been demonstrated to provide a 3% efficiency increase of to a peak of 88.7% compared to the sam...

Low Cost High Volume Quantum Dot Manufacturing

info@parteqinnovations.com — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 13:28:28 GMT

Quantum dots (QDs) have the potential to dramatically improve the state of the art in three very important technology areas; solid state (LED) lighting, solar cells, and flat panel displays. What’s missing is a way to produce QDs at a cost and volume that makes them usable in these applications. Researchers in the Department of Biology at Queen’s University in Kingston Ontario Canada have developed a breakthrough manufacturing method for QDs that, when scaled up, has the potential to produce 100’s of kg of QD at a cost of a few dollars per gram. A detailed technology opportunity b...

Optimal Control for DC-DC Buck Converters

info@parteqinnovations.com — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 12:35:17 GMT

Buck converters are the most commonly used power conversion technology in PCs for producing the high current low voltage CPU, GPU and RAM supplies. As core voltages reduce and current levels increase, it is becoming increasingly difficult to meet efficiency, regulation and cost requirements of next generation systems. Researchers in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Queen’s University in Kingston Ontario Canada have developed optimal control technologies, for both analog and digital implementations, that address the needs of next generation systems. &nb...

Advanced Current Source Gate Driver for Buck Converters

info@parteqinnovations.com — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 12:18:12 GMT

Buck converters are still the most commonly used technique for power conversion in PCs, for producing the high current low voltage supplies for CPUs. Researchers in the Department of Computer and Electrical Engineering at Queen’s University in Kingston Ontario Canada have developed a high performance Current Source Gate Driver that greatly improves the operation of the buck converter, especially in low voltage supplies (< 1.3V) commonly required for next generation CPUs. The researcher has demonstrated a 30A 12V->1.3V buck converter with a peak efficiency of 89% ...

Automatic 3D Ultrasound Beamwidth Profiling Device

info@parteqinnovations.com — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 11:50:52 GMT

Calibration of ultrasound equipment can be a time consuming and expensive process. Inaccuracies in calibration can strongly impact the overall effectiveness of the ultrasound procedure. Errors in seed placement in procedures such as prostate brachytherapy can not only render the treatment ineffective, but it may also cause injury to otherwise healthy tissue. Researchers in the School of Computing at Queen's University in Kingston Ontario Canada have developed a solution for accurate, low cost, easy to use calibration of ultrasound equipment. The solution comprises a s...

Depth control for laser based material processing

info@parteqinnovations.com — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 11:33:55 GMT

Lasers are increasingly being used in a wide range of industrial and medical applications to process (cut, weld, drill, coat etc.) materials. While lateral position control of the laser beam is well understood, control over the penetration depth of the laser beam into the material has proven elusive and problematic. The achievement of active online in-situ depth control for laser based material processing will both significantly reduce costs and improve quality for today's applications, and also opens the door to a wide range of new and high value opportunities. Researchers...

Hybrid Photochromic Material

info@parteqinnovations.com — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 11:03:11 GMT

Photochromic Materials Description: Researchers at Queen’s University have developed a new class of photochromic organoboron materials that are switchable between transparent and translucent states in response to UV light and/or oxygen. The color change can be observed visually under visible light or detected under UV irradiation (see Fig.1, below and in attached PDF). The colour of these materials can be switched between colourless and dark blue or dark green in a liquid as well as in a polymer matrix (see Fig. 2, below and in attached PDF). Researchers are able to tune th...

Functionalized High Molecular Weight Polypropylene

info@parteqinnovations.com — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 07:36:35 GMT

Researchers at Queen’s University have developed a process to chemically modify high molecular weight (10,000 – 100,000 Da) polypropylene without significantly affecting its melt viscosity. As such, the resulting functional polypropylene derivatives do not suffer from the same limitations (i.e. reduced processability and poor mechanical properties) as those produced using conventional modification chemistry (e.g. maleation, vinylsilane grafting). Consequently, the functionalized polyolefins produced using this process can be used in a wide variety of industrial applications including ...

Decomposition of Organophosphorus Compounds

info@parteqinnovations.com — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 07:36:34 GMT

Dr. Stan Brown and Dr. Alex Neverov of the Department of Chemistry at Queen’s University (Kingston, Canada) have developed a novel decontaminant for toxic chemical warfare agents, insecticides and pesticides. The decontamination reaction is fast, catalytic, occurs at room temperature, and produces non-toxic products. It is broadly suitable for decomposing neutral organophosphorous compounds, including chemical nerve agents (e.g., G-, V- and VX-agents) and pesticides (e.g., paraoxon, fenitrothion). Independent testing by TNO (Netherlands) and by Edgewood Chemical...

Paradigm-Shifting Logic Architecture Offering 25x More Capacity than Today’s FPGAs

info@parteqinnovations.com — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 06:12:31 GMT

When there is a requirement for a custom logic solution, the technology chosen is typically one of either Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) or Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). Today, FPGAs occupy only a small portion of the custom semiconductor market, hampered by high power consumption and relatively low logic capacity compared with ASICs. Researchers at Princeton University in Princeton NJ and Queen’s University in Kingston Ontario have achieved the ultimate goal of the FPGA industry, which is to create a programmable device that can compete wi...

Solid-supported Palladacycle Catalysts

info@parteqinnovations.com — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 06:21:25 GMT

Professor Stan Brown and his research group at Queen’s University have developed a novel approach to make solid-supported palladacycle catalysts. Instead of binding premade palladacycle molecules onto silica or polymer materials, a palladacycle is formed in-situ on the functionalized backbone of commercially available polymers or silicas through formation of a covalent bond (See scheme below). This method provides a simple and cost effective approach of making immobilized palladacycle catalysts. Applications: Solid-supported palladacycle catalysts have been widely used in m...

Novel Efficiency Boost Technology for Smart SR Drivers in LLC based DC-DC Converters

info@parteqinnovations.com — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 07:14:45 GMT

Today’s PC and Server power supplies employ 400VDC à 12VDC LLC power converters which typically have 91-92% efficiencies when using standard schottky diodes for rectification. Using MOSFETs as synchronous rectifiers increases efficiency to 94-95% due mainly to their very low ON resistance. Researchers in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Queen’s University in Kingston Ontario Canada have developed a technology referred to as the “Zero Crossing Noise Filter’ that improves the 400V to 12 V DC LLC converter stage efficiency by as much as 1%. A 600 W LLC convert...

A Fiber-loop Ring-down Spectroscopy Detector for HPLC

info@parteqinnovations.com — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:28:30 GMT

Description: Researchers at Queen’s University have developed a rugged and inexpensive absorption detector based on a patented fiber-loop ring-down spectroscopy (FLRDS) technology. The ring-down of a pulse of light (from near infrared to UV) in a loop made of fiber-optic waveguide is correlated to changes of analyte concentrations in a sample stream. Coupling with various separation instrumentation (e.g. capillary electrophoresis, micro-HPLC, or microfluidic devices), this detector allows for a fast and sensitive detection of a broad range of organic species, proteins/peptides, and...

Multi-Channel Optical Fiber as a Frit

info@parteqinnovations.com — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 10:01:42 GMT

Researchers at Queen’s University have developed a robust retaining frit for capillary LC column packing using micro-structured optical fibre (MSF). A representative frit containing 168 precisely patterned holes with 4 µm hole diameter has been used to successfully retain 3 µm microspheres. Currently, porous frits made by sintering metallic particles are widely used to retain particles for LC packing. However, this type of frit tends to have relatively higher flow resistance and its production is not as reproducible. Benefits: MSF Frits offer significantly lower backpressures ...

Multiple-channel Micro-reactor Array

info@parteqinnovations.com — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 10:01:41 GMT

Protein digestion is a standard procedure for many bio-analytical operations. Current techniques include in solution digestion, packed capillary, porous polymer monoliths, and micro-fluidic channels immobilized with enzymes. Because samples of biological molecules are often available only in minute quantities and accordingly any pre- treatment of the sample must be able to be completed sparingly and with small sample sizes. Researchers at Queen’s University have developed a multi-channel micro-reactor array using micro-structured optical fibres (MSFs) with prec...

Single-Step Schwartz Reduction

info@parteqinnovations.com — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 10:01:40 GMT

Schwartz reduction enables many vital transformations in synthetic organic chemistry including its large-scale application in manufacturing of paclitaxel (taxolTM), a generic anticancer drug to treat patients with lung, ovarian, and breast cancer. Although the Schwartz reagent is commercially available, it is expensive and problematic for long-time storage due to its sensitivity to air, light and moisture. Current in situ Schwartz reagent generation procedures are all based on the initial preparation of the Schwartz reagent for use in the subsequent reactions. Concerns of ...

CANINE FACTOR VIII

info@parteqinnovations.com — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 10:35:50 GMT

Dr. David Lillicrap of the Department of Pathology at Queen's University has developed a canine factor VIII cDNA and constructed several B domain deleted forms of this sequence. The technology provides isolated nucleic acid molecules encoding canine factor VIII and mutants, fragments and derivatives thereof. The technology also provides canine factor VIII polypeptides encoded by such isolated nucleic acid molecules, antibodies binding to such polypeptides, genetic constructs comprising such nucleic acid molecules, prokaryotic or eukaryotic host cells or whole animals comprisi...

DETECTS(TM) - Tool for Quantifying Circulatory Emboli

info@parteqinnovations.com — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 10:09:23 GMT

In open heart surgery, trapped air within the heart is permitted to escape by a variety of non-standardized techniques including venting, alternating the patient’s position and applying physical pressure on the carotid arteries to prevent cerebral embolism. In certain cases, the trapped emboli can lead to cerebral emboli which causes severe neurological dysfunction or death. A reliable tool that can accurately measure the number of emboli has been developed to improve neurological outcome post cardiac surgery. Researchers at Queen’s University have developed DETECTSTM, a softwa...

Obesity Management Kit: Waist Circumference Tape Measure and Instructional Video

info@parteqinnovations.com — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 09:26:44 GMT

The Canadian guidelines for the clinical management of obesity recommend measuring “body mass index and waist circumference in all adults and adolescents to determine the degree and distribution of body fat” (CMAJ April 10, 2007, Vol.176, Issue 8). The guidelines characterize waist circumference as “a new vital sign”. Waist circumference provides a measure of visceral (abdominal) fat, which has been shown to increase a person’s risk of heart disease and death independent of body weight or body mass index (BMI). A 2006 study by researchers at Queen's University showed that ...

H2 Fertilization: Is this the Benefit of Crops In Rotation?

info@parteqinnovations.com — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 09:02:30 GMT

The beneficial effect on crop growth from rotation and inter-cropping with legumes is recognized the world over. The more efficient utilization of growth resources leads to yield advantages and increased stability compared to sole cropping. Researchers formerly of Queen's University believe they have developed a technique that mimics the benefits of crop rotation: a "chemical-free" and effective way to improve crop growth by 10-30% without rotating crops. Dr. David Layzell (University of Calgary) and Dr. Zhongmin Dong (St. Mary’s University) enhanced the soil’s activity by pre-t...

Methods of treating a CNS disorder using N,N-dichlorinated amino acids and Derivatives

info@parteqinnovations.com — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 09:02:29 GMT

Researchers at Queen’s University have achieved high levels of BBB permeability with chlorinated taurine a critical omega amino acid for normal brain function. Chlorinated taurine reverts to taurine within the CNS. Experiments with rats provide evidence that administration of dichlorotaurine attenuates the pathological consequences of excessive glutamate release, which is known to occur under clinical conditions such as epilepsy, intractable pain disorders, Huntington’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease and abnormalities associated with CNS trauma. Dichlorination with othe...

MRI Acoustic Absorber with Tunable Resonance Frequencies

info@parteqinnovations.com — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 08:25:47 GMT

MRI acoustic noise has long been a concern in terms of patient comfort and, on occasion, patient safety. In order to attenuate the acoustic noise in MRI scanners, various measures involving both active and passive control have been investigated. However, these methods are generally not cost effective and typically attenuate the acoustic noise only at a fixed frequency or frequency range. A sound absorber for MRI scanners that overcomes these limitations has been developed by researchers at Queen’s University. Technology: The sound absorber reduces the acoustic noise inside the ...

Patient-Specific Surgical Guide with Intraoperative Adjustability

info@parteqinnovations.com — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 07:48:34 GMT

Overview: Pre-operatively designed patient-specific guides are intended to register to the patient’s anatomy in a unique orientation; however, in practice variability exists due to the presence of soft tissues, immature osteophytes, etc. This variability in positioning can result in a significantly altered surgical approach and may compromise clinical outcomes. Technology: To address this issue, researchers at Kingston General Hospital and Queen’s University have developed a patient-specific guide that employs a verification tool and adjustable instrument sleeves to alter...

Extended Release Absorbable Polymer Drug Delivery Systems

info@parteqinnovations.com — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 07:48:15 GMT

Overview: A researcher at Queen’s University has developed a suite of proprietary extended release drug delivery systems based on absorbable elastomers and injectable polymers. Formulated from clinically accepted monomers such as D,L-lactide, e-caprolactone, polyethylene glycol, and trimethylene carbonate, these novel drug delivery systems can be tailored to possess a specific drug release profile, surface chemistry, and/or resorption rate and have been tested with a variety of therapeutic agents including proteins and peptides. Technology Description: Elastomer Drug Delivery S...

SW-01: Novel Anti-Cancer Compound with Potent Combination Synergy with Gemcitabine

info@parteqinnovations.com — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 07:18:25 GMT

Description Our investigators have identified a generic drug, SW-01, that is a highly selective RET kinase inhibitor. RET is well established as an important cancer-causing molecule in human thyroid cancer and recent findings support a broader role in neuroblastoma, lung tumours, estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer, and pancreatic tumours. The efficacy of SW-01 was demonstrated in pancreatic cancer Xenografts. Unlike other kinase inhibitors, SW-01 is highly selective and it inhibits RET mutants other RET Inhibitors can’t. It has a well-defined saf...

Multi-Drug Resistance Proteins (MRPs)

info@parteqinnovations.com — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 07:18:24 GMT

In 1992, Queen’s University researchers Drs. Susan Cole and Roger Deeley cloned a highly overexpressed novel mRNA from doxorubicin-selected multidrug resistant lung cancer cells. They subsequently established that the Multidrug Resistance Protein (MRP1) encoded by this mRNA was a 190 kDa ATP-binding phosphoglycoprotein capable of conferring resistance on previously sensitive cells. MRP1 is the founding member of subfamily "C" of the ATP-Binding Cassette ("ABC") superfamily of transport proteins, which now includes six MRP1 homologs as well as the gene responsible ...

Current Source Gate Drive Technology for DC-DC Buck Converters

info@parteqinnovations.com — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:48:01 GMT

DC-DC buck converters are commonly used in electronic systems to produce low DC voltages from a common 12V feed. As system voltage rails get increasingly lower and lower, and as switching frequencies increase, the efficiency and performance of the buck converter begins to decrease.Existing switching power supply designs are not capable of meeting all the requirements of next generation computing and telecom technologies. To partially address this situation, switching frequencies have increased to the megahertz region. However, conventional gate drive schemes suffer at high frequ...

Low Cost Single Stage Dimmable Electronic Ballast for Compact Fluorescent Lamps

info@parteqinnovations.com — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:04:05 GMT

(A PDF with additional information may be downloaded here.) There is a global trend to eliminate incandescent bulbs in favor of CFLs due to their higher efficiency and longer lifetime. Most CFLs today for the consumer market are not compatible with standard dimmers, causing major dissatisfaction with consumers. Additionally consumer electronic ballasts have poor power factors, resulting in a net efficiency that is significantly less than the rated efficiency of the lamp. For example, a CFL with a rated power of 13W and a power factor of 0.5 actually consumes ...

MSF Emitter

info@parteqinnovations.com — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 07:30:31 GMT

Since its introduction, electrospray ionization (ESI) has become the preferred method for coupling liquid separation techniques to mass spectrometry for the analysis of biomolecules. Over the last fifteen years, the thrust in proteomics (with its needs for increased sensitivity, enhanced resolution and high throughput) has generated a tremendous amount of interest in ESI-MS. The development of low flow ESI (flow rates < 100 nL/min), also known as nano-ESI further increased the utility of ESI by significantly improving sensitivity. The continuous drive to reduce flo...