SBIR-STTR Award

The project proposed here will develop a polymer based pre-concentrator integrated with a novel membrane inlet for a mass spectrometer. By using an integrated solution, the dead volume of the pre-concentrator can be minimized, thus increasing the pre-concentration gain (projected to be > 17000 with gas flows of 1 l/min containing analyte to 40 pg/l) well beyond that of solid sorbent tubes. Also, the proximity of the polymer material to the novel membrane dramatically reduces the thermal mass of the inlet, thus minimizing the analysis time required (project to be < 1 minute). Phase I of this proposal will consist of an investigation to determine the appropriate polymers for the sorption material. Candidate materials will be tested using SPACEHAB’s current pre-concentrator design and miniature mass spectrometer. After identification of the appropriate polymers, a detailed design of the integrated inlet will be produced. Under the proposed Phase I – Option, a prototype integrated inlet will be built, tested on a standard laboratory mass spectrometer, and delivered to CBD for testing.

Keywords:
Pre-Concentrator, Mass Spectrometer Inlet, Membrane Inlet Mass Spectrometry, Integrated Sample Inlet, Polymer Sorption Pre-Concentrator, Polymer Sorption Mass Spectrometer Inl

This proposal describes a project to develop a pre-concentrator inlet system for a mass spectrometer. The pre-concentrator utilizes a heated mesh design that is coated with a variety of sorbent materials to provide high pre-concentration with adversely affecting the analysis time. An innovative method of evacuating the pre-concentrator chamber provides an additional gain in pre-concentration of 2 to 3 orders of magnitude. In short, the device will provide a pre-concentration gain of 10e3 to 10e6 with an analysis time of less than 30 seconds and requires less than 10W of power (average). In addition to proving the high concentration gain for a list of chemicals of interest, the project will also ensure that the measurement of chemicals of interest to the CBD program (e.g., CWAs and TICs) is also enhanced. The device will be designed such that the effects of temperature, humidity, and background contaminants are minimized. The proposed project will build on the success of the offerors Phase I SBIR effort to transition the proof-of-principle from a laboratory demonstrator to a fully characterized sub-component that can be integrated with a wide variety of chemical detection instruments.

Keywords:
Pre-Concentrator, Chemical Detection, Sorbent Materials, Coated Mesh