# A direct-reading dosimeter badge for monitoring personal exposure to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs)

> **NIH ALLCDC R43** · PLATYPUS TECHNOLOGIES, LLC · 2020 · $138,261

## Abstract

Project Summary
 Through this SBIR project, we aim to develop new methods and technologies for
monitoring personal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Because PAHs cause
DNA damage that may initiate cancer, these compounds pose considerable risk to human health.
Chronic exposure to PAHs in the workplace has been associated with increased risk of cancer for
firefighters, road construction workers, roofers and vehicle operators. To identify and assess
worker exposure to airborne PAHs, industrial hygienists utilize sorbent tubes. However, this
method has significant disadvantages including high-cost, burdensome sampling and handling,
low accuracy and delayed reporting due to required analysis by an external laboratory. Thus, there
exist an unmet need for new methods for monitoring exposure to PAHs.
 This project aims to develop simple, low-cost, wearable dosimeters sampling badges that
provide real-time and accurate monitoring of exposure to airborne PAHs. This work builds on
exciting preliminary results that demonstrate that films of liquid crystals (LC) exhibit an abrupt
optical transition when exposed to PAHs, but not when exposed to other gaseous chemicals. In
Phase I, we will use hypothesis-based testing to develop a better understanding of materials and
design considerations to guide the development of LC-based dosimeters for measuring exposure
to PAHs. We aim to (i) understand the material properties that influence the response of LC films
to PAHs with the goal of optimizing sensitivity, and (ii) identify dosimeter configurations that
enable quantitative measurements of the concentration of PAHs in air. The outcomes of this work
will provide design principles for fabricating dosimeter sampling badges for quantitative
characterization of exposure to PAHs in the workplace. More broadly, the tools and methods
developed through these efforts will enable new assessments on worker exposures to PAHs, and
this new knowledge may lead to actions that reduce occupational cancer and other adverse health
outcomes, and create safer workplaces. Thus, the goals of this SBIR project are well alight with
the NIOSH Priority Goals for Extramural Research for 2019-2023.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10010384
- **Project number:** 1R43OH011990-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** PLATYPUS TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
- **Principal Investigator:** Marco A Bedolla Pantoja
- **Activity code:** R43 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** ALLCDC
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $138,261
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-09-01 → 2021-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10010384

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10010384, A direct-reading dosimeter badge for monitoring personal exposure to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) (1R43OH011990-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-01 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10010384. Licensed CC0.

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