Novel Sampling Tickets for Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) of Chemical and Biological (CB) Threat Materials
SBIR Opportunity Analysis
The Department of Defense, through its Chemical and Biological Defense SBIR topic CBD254-006, is seeking an innovative solution to improve surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy for detecting trace chemical and biological threat materials. The work focuses on physically semi-porous flexible coupons, such as paper or polymer substrates with plasmonic nanoparticles, that can be patterned with one or more SERS substrates to sample hazardous materials from operational surfaces and improve sensitivity and selectivity over current bulk-sample handheld Raman methods. Proposals should address substrate selection, fabrication, reproducible patterning, and performance against representative threat classes or surrogates, with compatibility for fielded Raman devices and wavelengths of 785 nm, 830 nm, and 1064 nm; Phase II also requires statistically useful replicate testing at the 80% confidence level, a Bayesian limit of detection for selected mixtures, and delivery of at least 50 substrates for independent analysis. The opportunity is open, with applications due by May 13, 2026 at 4:00 PM UTC, and the solicitation is available through the DoD SBIR/STTR topic portal.