August 3, 2006 - New weapons on tap in war on terrorism - Atlanta Journal-Constitution

By JOHN GHIRARDINI

Some of the latest weapons in the war on terrorism were unveiled Wednesday at a Duluth company.

Isonics Homeland Security & Defense Corp. demonstrated a pair of "sniffer" devices - one hand-held, one meant for mounting in train and subway cars, buses and the like - that can detect in the air minuscule amounts of chemical toxins and homemade explosives.

The programmable devices recognize up to 60 substances such as sarin nerve gas or mustard gas, even at low levels, said Dennis Koehler, Isonics' vice president of sales and marketing.

"We're not stopping here," he said. "We're working on advanced capabilities and designs."

Representatives of several public safety agencies in the metro area viewed the devices Wednesday at PartnerTech, a Duluth firm that will assemble the devices for Columbia, Md.-based Isonics.

PartnerTech is part of a company, founded as a copper mine, that assembles complicated devices.

Another Isonics partner, Colorado-based DualDraw, demonstrated large chemical- and explosive-detecting workstations meant for inspection points or mailrooms that can raise an alert to the presence of toxins such as anthrax within 15 seconds.

Gwinnett county law enforcement officials on hand Wednesday didn't commit to a purchase but said the equipment would be useful.

"I was impressed with all these devices," said Lt. Nick Neal, who heads the Gwinnett Sheriff Department's Family Violence Unit and helps the department assess possible purchases.

"They'd be excellent at checkpoints."

The devices also were of particular interest to Gwinnett Sheriff's Maj. W.H. Shepherd, the Court Security Division commander.

"This is the next phase in security screening," Shepherd said. "It's certainly - and unfortunately - the future. There's a market worldwide; there'll be a bigger market down the road. It's a sign of the times."

The sniffers don't come cheap.

Company representatives said the hand-held and portable devices cost from $18,000 to $35,000 per unit depending on features and order size.

The DualDraw workstations run $33,500 for the table-size model and $34,700 for the vertical mailroom unit.

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About Slingshot Product Development Group

Slingshot is one of the Southeast's leading product design and development organizations. The company's development teams utilize unique and proven strategies to rapidly launch products for clients in a variety of industries, including consumer products, medical, electronics, military/security, automotive, aerospace, toys, and other categories. Slingshot has developed products with dozens of corporate clients including The Coca-Cola Company, Plantronics, Conair, Kimberly Clark, CharBroil and Lockheed, as well as with innovation-based start-ups.

The company offers a full range of product development services including ideation, conceptual design, prototyping, engineering, design for manufacture, packaging and program management. Additionally, sourcing and manufacturer coordination services are offered through Slingshot's Asia office near Shanghai, China.

Slingshot Product Development Group was founded in 2001 by Sam Zaidspiner, President; George Hatzilias, Vice President of Engineering; and Noah McNeely, Vice President of Design.

About Isonics Corporation

Founded in 1992, Isonics Corporation is an advanced materials and technology company focused on the development and provision of homeland security products and services and provides silicon wafer reclaim products and services, wafer thinning and silicon-on-insulator wafers for the semiconductor industry.

Based in Golden, Colorado, Isonics and subsidiaries maintain offices in New York and Washington. The Company currently has over 450 U.S. based employees. Isonics is a publicly owned company with its common stock trading under the symbol "ISON.OB" on the OTC Bulletin Board.