A novel analytical assay for the spectrophotometric determination of phosphate in natural waters

The objective of this Pathfinder application is to secure funding of £3,990 plus VAT to file a patent at the UK patent office for a novel assay for phosphate (bioavailable form of phosphorous) analysis in natural waters that demonstrates significantly better performance both in laboratory analysis and within in situ autonomous wet chemical sensors. The patent will aim to protect the assay as a product and also the recipe to the assay/product.
We will need to instruct the patent attorney, Nick Braddon of Barker Brettell, who has quoted £3,200 plus VAT to file the patent at the UK patent office. The work will require us (i.e. Charlie Morgan of the NOC Enterprise Team, Dr. Geraldine Turner and Dr. Socratis Loucaides) providing instructions to Nick Braddon which typically involves a face-to-face meeting (c. 3 hours), review and amending Nick's draft (c. 3 hours) and finalising the draft (c.1 hour) and then Nick filing the patent at the UK patent office.
Once filed in the UK, we intend to commission a new independent market study with additional Pathfinder funds to research the markets for its application within (i) environmental/water quality sensor manufacturers for in situ applications (e.g. Seabird Scientific, Xylem, TE Laboratories) and (ii) suppliers of assays (chemical solutions) for laboratory use worldwide (e.g. Scaler, Seal, Hach and Agilent).
The patent filing and subsequent market research will provide NERC and NOC with timely market information to evaluate the commercial opportunities of the new assay. It will help us to ensure we secure the best possible license deals across the different markets. As the technology is now reaching mature levels, the research will inform our decision making around how we license the technologies by identifying the leading companies in each market and it could open new doors for licensing opportunities within different market sectors (e.g. the chemicals industry) and inform our future technology development plans to meet anticipated market needs.

The PVP assay, we believe, will deliver the benefits as outlined above meaning our phosphate lab on chip sensor will become even more 'fit for purpose' increasing its adoption. In terms of the societal impact, the sensor will help scientists collect more and higher quality phosphate in situ data over longer periods via a variety of platforms including fixed buoys, gliders and autonomous underwater vehicles and this will lead to a greater understanding of the biogeochemical processes which play a crucial role in our climate change studies. We also anticipate other end-users (as outlined above) will benefit from assay's capabilities although we want to test this with an independent market research study. The economic impact should be seen through the prism of adding value to the relevant markets and generating increased revenue for the UK Treasury via corporation tax of our UK licensee partners and/or inward investment by our international partners. By improving the product port-folio of these companies, it may also contribute to the creation of jobs within these companies, and/or to the potential creation of a manufacturing spin-out company and to the continued investment into NOC's world leading sensor development programme. Royalty income would also be generated for NERC/NOC which can be re-invested into scientific research, technology development and/or the protection of new technologies.