ROANOKE, Va., 21 June 2008. Luna Innovations Inc. won a $3.9 million subcontract from General Dynamics Information Technology in support of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to continue work improving the performance of nanomaterials for military applications.

In this program, Luna's product development team will evaluate prototypes using exclusive nanomaterials applied to real-world conditions. Demonstrations of the commercial viability of proposed nanotechnologies will include diagnostics and therapeutics for military medicine and alternative energy solutions using organic solar cells.

"By manipulating the properties of our proprietary nanomaterials, we can tune the materials to fit desired applications," says Charles Gause, vice president of corporate development at Luna Innovations. "To date, we have produced 27 different species of our Trimetasphere molecule and to maximize the potential of this carbon nanomaterial technology, proof-of-concept via application-specific testing and prototyping is necessary."

Increasing efficiencies of light conversion to electrical energy of organic solar cells is required to make them commercially viable. The company has made advances on a key parameter, known as "open circuit voltage," or Voc, that is essential for improving organic solar cell efficiency. "Luna has already increased Voc by 35 percent over the standard reference devices," adds Gause. "In this final phase of the program we will continue working towards the achievement of even higher efficiencies in order to make organic solar cells commercially viable."