Micropreconcentrator for Enhanced Trace Detection of Explosives and Chemical Agents

Voiculescu, Ioana; McGill, R. Andrew; Zaghloul, Mona; Mott, David R.; Stepnowski, Jennifer L.; Stepnowski, S.; Summers, Huw D.; Nguyen, Viet; Ross, Stuart K.; Walsh, Kevin M.; Martin, Michael

doi:10.1109/jsen.2006.881431

Cited by 76 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Thus, micro-preconcentrators find [1,2,3,4,5] 30 their applications in various systems for gas analysis such as solid phase micro gas chromatography (μ-GC)…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A micro gas preconcentrator with improved performance for pollution monitoring and explosives detection

Camara

Breuil

Briand

et al. 2011

Analytica Chimica Acta

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This paper presents the optimization of a micro gas preconcentrator based on a micro-channel in porous and non-porous silicon filled with an adequate adsorbent. This micro gas preconcentrator is both applicable in the fields of atmospheric pollution monitoring (Volatil Organic Compounds-VOCs) and explosives detection (nitroaromatic compounds). Different designs of micro-devices and adsorbent materials have been investigated since these two parameters are of importance in the performances of the microdevice. The optimization of the device and its operation were driven by its future application in outdoor environments. Parameters such as the preconcentration factor, cycle time and the influence of the humidity were considered along the optimization process. As a result of this study, a preconcentrator with a total cycle time of 10 minutes and the use of single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) as adsorbent exhibits a good preconcentration factor for VOCs with a limited influence of the humidity. The benefits of using porous silicon 1 24 25 26 27 28 to modify the gas desorption kinetics are also investigated.

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“…Thus, micro-preconcentrators find [1,2,3,4,5] 30 their applications in various systems for gas analysis such as solid phase micro gas chromatography (μ-GC)…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A micro gas preconcentrator with improved performance for pollution monitoring and explosives detection

Camara

Breuil

Briand

et al. 2011

Analytica Chimica Acta

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“…T he development of portable, robust organic thin-film transistor (OTFT)-based sensors functional in aqueous systems still faces many challenges, despite their vast potential in the health industry, environmental monitoring (1), and national defense (2). Ideally, expensive labeling and detection equipment can be eliminated with a simple device capable of transducing a binding event into an easily deciphered electrical signal (3,4).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…We also tested OTFT sensitivity to analogues of chemical warfare agents, including methylphosphonic acid (MPA) and trinitrobenzene (TNB). MPA represents an analogue of metabolized products of toxic nerve agents, such as Sarin or V-series toxins (2).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Water-stable organic transistors and their application in chemical and biological sensors

Roberts

Mannsfeld

Queraltó

et al. 2008

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

338

320

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“…[58] Preconcentration devices must have high mechanical strength in order to withstand high flow rates of air passing through them. This is necessary because the headspace concentration of analytes are usually minimal in large containers, which requires longer sampling time to draw large volume of air (between tens to thousands of liters) to collect enough analyte for analysis.…”

Section: Desired Characteristics Of Preconcentration Devicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The NRL preconcentrator has been used for a commercial IMS (VaporTracer 2, GE Iontrack), and is able to improve the signal intensity of TNT by an order of magnitude for a 10 second preconcentration time. [58,62,63] A more mature technology based on coated polymer phase is solid phase microextraction (SPME), developed by the Pawliszyn research group in the 1990's. SPME is briefly introduced here, and further details on SPME theory are summarized in Section 6.2.1.…”

Section: Current Technologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Construction and Optimization on an Ion Mobility Spectrometer for the Analysis of Explosives and Drugs

Lai¹

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All rights reserved.iv DEDICATION I dedicate this dissertation to my family, especially to my mom and dad whom many years ago left their mother country with two pairs of empty hands, and brought their children to the land of opportunities. It is because of them that today I have the chance to study and follow my dreams. I could not be where I am today without their love, hard work, support, and sacrifice.They are my existence and my success will forever be theirs.I would like to dedicate this work to all the friends in my personal and professional network, who have always welcomed me with their kind word, kind thought, and kind heart. Last but not least, I dedicate this dissertation to my special friend Michael, who has been by my side throughout the hardest years, to whom I can share my true emotions especially in the down times. His unconditional love, support, trust, and confidence in me has helped and will continue to help me overcome many tough waves in life. Today, over 15,000 Ion Mobility Spectrometry (IMS) analyzers are employed at worldwide security checkpoints to detect explosives and illicit drugs. Current portal IMS instruments and other electronic nose technologies detect explosives and drugs by analyzing samples containing the headspace air and loose particles residing on a surface. Canines can outperform these systems at sampling and detecting the low vapor pressure explosives and drugs, such as RDX, PETN, cocaine, and MDMA, because these biological detectors target the volatile signature compounds available in the headspace rather than the non-volatile parent compounds of explosives and drugs.In this dissertation research volatile signature compounds available in the headspace over explosive and drug samples were detected using SPME as a headspace sampling tool coupled to an IMS analyzer. A Genetic Algorithm (GA) technique was developed to optimize the operating conditions of a commercial IMS (GE Itemizer 2), leading to the successful detection of plastic explosives (Detasheet, Semtex H, and C-4) and illicit drugs (cocaine, MDMA, and marijuana).Short sampling times (between 10 sec to 5 min) were adequate to extract and preconcentrate sufficient analytes (> 20 ng) representing the volatile signatures in the headspace of a 15 mL glass vial or a quart-sized can containing ≤ 1 g of the bulk explosive or drug.vii Furthermore, a research grade IMS with flexibility for changing operating conditions and physical configurations was designed and fabricated to accommodate future research into different analytes or physical configurations. The design and construction of the FIU-IMS were facilitated by computer modeling and simulation of ion's behavior within an IMS. The simulation method developed uses SIMION/SDS and was evaluated with experimental data collected using a commercial IMS (PCP Phemto Chem 110). The FIU-IMS instrument has comparable performance to the GE Itemizer 2 (average resolving power of 14, resolution of 3 between two drugs and two explosives, and LODs range from 0.7 to 9 ng).The results ...

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Micropreconcentrator for Enhanced Trace Detection of Explosives and Chemical Agents

Cited by 76 publications

References 25 publications

A micro gas preconcentrator with improved performance for pollution monitoring and explosives detection

A micro gas preconcentrator with improved performance for pollution monitoring and explosives detection

Water-stable organic transistors and their application in chemical and biological sensors

The Construction and Optimization on an Ion Mobility Spectrometer for the Analysis of Explosives and Drugs

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