A new technology called "chemical parameter spectrometry" is modified to be able to analyze solid, liquid, and gaseoussamples. the experiments performed in this work result in the design for a protable instrument (black box) that can identify virtually all hazardous commodities. the hazard ous… More

New techniques that improve the portability, selectivity, and economy of drug assays are necessary. recent advances in electrochemical detectors and detector arrays, portable instrument design, and applied artificial intelligence are combined in the proposed work. the result is a low-cost, portable,… More

An all solid-state micro-electrocatalytic amperometric sensor is proposed for the detection, identification, and quantification of hydrazine, monomethylhydrazins and hc1. during phase i, several innovative sensors are constructed and evaluated. the sensors use solid ionic conductors as the… More

Masks and filters are worn over the head or face to protect individuals from exposure to toxic chemical vapors. in these devices, there is no convenient or effective way to tell whether the adsorbent in the mask is fresh or used. a sensor that could fit inside the protective sorbent bed and tell the… More

New and improved chemical detection and alerting systems are needed for defense against chemical warfare agents. one useful approach has been the development of electrochemical sensors and some of these are now in production. however, a more selective, sensitive, rugged, small, and lower cost sensor… More

The long-term goals of this project are the development of technology-such as microsensor arrays, automatic calibration, pattern recognition methods-to allow the designof portable, inexpensive, and reliable instruments with exceptional analytical capabilities for the noninvasive measurement of blood… More

Modulation of the concentration of a toxic vapor to be detected causes a time-dependent signal to be generated in the detection device. typically, this time-dependent signalis ignored and only steady-state or equilibrium detector values are used. however, this time-dependent signal can bemade to… More

Recent advances in microelectronics, chemical sensors, and electroanalytical chemical methods are combined to produce anew capability for personal exposure monitors (pem's). pem's have been shown to be effective tools for the determination of human exposure to a variety of toxic agents in outdoor,… More

Organic isocyanates, found in plastics, paints, and explosives, are also highly toxic. they pose an industrial hygiene problem because the low toxic concentrations are not easily monitored in real time. we propose to combine a recently-developed portable liquid chromatograph with a permeation… More

Ethylene oxide (eto) is a useful agent for sterilizing medical equipment because it involves no heat and is not corrosive to most materials. many medical facilities, however, cannot use eto because of its toxicity and because of the difficulty of monitoring it. present methods (infrared,… More

A new, simple device that can measure carbon monoxide (co) on the breath will be developed in this project. the technology utilizes a microsensor and microelectronic circuit that allows the entire device to be hand held and operate on a wristwatch battery. the new microinstrument readout is small… More

The usda/fgis is responsible for inspecting grain for quality according to the u.s. grain standards. grain inspection and grading is mandatory for most export grain and common in domestic grain. the presence of odor (sound, musty, sour, smutty or cofo) can influence the grade of the grain.… More

A background study will be performed on the state-of-the-art specific materials and ion production techniques that can be added to ims systems to improve sensitivity and specificity. ion-molecule chemistry and signal processing algorithms that will allow interference rejection will be included.

There is very little systematic data on volcanic emissions because of the lack of suitable monitoring equipment. the available data show a very significant correlation between volcanic activity and gas emissions. therefore, there is a great need for new instrumentation that will provide the needed… More

A simple contact filter has been devised that will convert g-type chemical agents to hydrogen cyanide, which can be measured by a sensitive amperometric detector. the contact filter separates the conversion and detection processes, allowing each to be optimized separately. in preliminary… More

An electrochemical sensor system will be developed to measure carbon monoxide in the 0-10 part-per-million range in the presence of 0-200 ppm of hydrogen gas. Since carbon monoxide is generated during heme degradation and exhaled, this system will be useful for the prediction of neonatal jaundice.… More

Arsine (AsH3) is a very toxic gas that is encountered in the semiconductor, metal refining andother industries. Complex ventilators, scrubbers, and detectors are needed to control the gas whereverit is used. We will investigate the detection of arsine gas in real time using an electrochemical… More

Partnerships between small companies and large primary manufacturers are difficult to form, but can have substantial benefit. the proposed research will develop a nw indoor air quality sensor for automotive applications. a collaborative effort between transducer research, inc. and ford motor co.… More

A chemical sensor has been discovered which can be made to sensitively detect enzyme activity and aantibody reactions. It consists of an ultrathin (25 Angstroms) layer of platinum on an insulating sumeasure dielectric constant and other properties within molecular-scale distances of the surface.… More