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About SensIrOx:
We provide electrochemical sensors that improve everyday lives. Our sensors provide robustness and ease of use to a wide range of customers.
Company
Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, SensIrOx Inc. is an Ohio C-Corporation that offers unique electrochemical sensors to meet significant unaddressed needs in the laboratory, industrial process control, and medical device markets.
Products
Our first product is a metal oxide pH sensor able to outperform other products on the market.
Traditional sensors are constructed with a blown-glass “bulb,” a special glass membrane that allows protons to be exchanged into it, surrounding a metallic wire that is immersed in a chemical solution which varies depending on the intended use of the device. The bulb is fragile, and these electrodes are expensive to manufacture. They are difficult to store and use because the membrane must be kept wet, and they are slow to respond to pH changes due to the slow migration of protons into and within the membrane. They are not suitable at all for some applications, such as non-aqueous solutions that dehydrate the glass, or food and beverage applications where the potential for broken glass presents health risks.
In contrast, our sensors can be used in a wide variety of applications. They can be shipped and stored dry, not needing to be maintained in a hydrating solution, and are less susceptible to fouling. They show greater responsiveness to changes in the pH environment due to closer contact between the sensor and the measured substance. They are easier to clean and sterilize, and require less frequent calibration. They are extremely well-suited for the toughest applications: extreme pH or high salt solutions, wide ranging temperature and pressure environments, viscous samples like sludges and slurries, non-aqueous solutions like petroleum products or glue, and even moist solids like cheese or other food products.
Other technologies have emerged to address the deficiencies of glass electrodes. Plastics are sometimes used in place of the glass membrane, but these are often not suitable because of possible interaction between the plastic sleeve and the measured substance. Ion sensitive field effect transistor (ISFET) devices and potentiometric metal oxide pH electrodes (MOEs) exhibit drift, resulting in poor accuracy and frequent calibration.
Following the successful commercialization of our initial sensor we intend to introduce derivative products with integrated sensors to measure carbon dioxide, urea, glucose, and other analytes. Subsequent miniaturization will provide additional competitive advantages and open new applications, including in vivo real-time measurement of blood chemistry and other new applications for nano-sensors.
Technology
Our patent pending technology is based on a proprietary process for growing an iridium oxide film via the oxidation of an iridium wire in a carbonate melt. The resulting sensor exhibits superior stability when compared to today’s commercially available devices. It is based on technology developed by Marc Madou, Sheng Yao, and others at The Ohio State University (OSU).
Markets and Competition
The $180 million pH sensor market in the US ($400-500m globally) is well established and fragmented, with over 45 companies serving laboratory and industrial applications. SensIrOx electrodes offer distinct advantages in these markets. Also, existing technology has failed to develop viable solutions to meet pressing needs for pH sensing in food processing, harsh environments, non-aqueous environments and in vivo life-science applications. These emerging markets are many times larger than the traditional pH market.
There is significant near-term opportunity for applications in underserved vertical markets, such as measurement of oil degradation or chemicals used in photographic processes. Durability and the infrequent need for calibration also make the device uniquely well-suited for systems that must remain sealed, like bioreactors.
Strategy
SensIrOx currently offers pH electrodes for laboratory
and industrial applications. Please contact us to discuss
your needs.
The company also seeks corporate strategic partners
with clearly defined expertise in specific areas of
sensor application. We will initially focus on OEM partnerships
with equipment suppliers to well-defined vertical markets,
like oil degradation, environmental monitoring, pharmaceutical
manufacturing, or applications in a narrow segment of
the food and beverage industry. Later the broader, horizontal
lab/industrial market will be served by OEM relationships
with well-established existing suppliers. Medical applications
will be achieved through strategic partnerships with
device manufacturers.
Contact SensIrox
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