SBIR Phase I: Portable, Miniaturized Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer for Analysis of Inaccessible, Complex Surfaces

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目将表征样品需求以及电路板电子和光学仪器硬件，以支持超小型傅里叶变换红外分析仪的开发。拟议的分析仪的独特之处在于，它将能够在与药物清洗、验证和航空航天维护应用相关的各种不同成分的不规则和以前无法接触的表面上有效地工作。具体地说，该项目将确定使用红外光谱分析仪检测各种材料(即特氟龙和不锈钢)上的活性药物成分的痕量水平和制药制造设备中不规则表面几何形状的最佳方法。对深入物体内部位置的需求将推动对这项技术的微型化和开发访问特别困难位置的新方法的需求。例如，在飞机维修中，需要探测飞机机身中复合材料的分子完整性，这将需要一个微型分析仪与高灵敏检测器和灵活的取样探头相结合。这项工作的成果将是一种基于FTIR的小型化表面分析仪的发明，它将在许多关键工业中得到应用。该项目的广泛影响/商业潜力是巨大的，并将使一些与制造业相关的行业受益。通过了解开发通过红外分析表征各种表面的有用技术所需的条件，以及将用于非实验室环境的技术微型化，许多工业应用变得可用。例如，在制药行业，这项技术将导致现场清洁验证，从而减少制造设备的停机时间和生产药品的成本。在航空航天工业中，许多表面必须在制造和维护过程中清洁并验证为清洁，以确保涂层、涂料和底漆有效地应用于金属、聚合物和复合材料表面。对于像下一代航天飞机或复合基地商业航空公司这样复杂的设备，需要知道表面是否得到适当的清洁和/或准备是至关重要的，因为这会影响车辆的维护和安全。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Phase I project will characterize sample requirements, as well as breadboard electronic and optical instrument hardware, in support of the development of an ultra-miniaturized Fourier transform infrared analyzer. The proposed analyzer is unique in that it will be capable of functioning effectively on a wide variety of irregular and previously inaccessible surfaces of varied composition associated with pharmaceutical cleaning verification and aerospace maintenance applications. Specifically, the project will determine the optimum means to detect trace levels of active pharmaceutical ingredients on the various materials (i.e., Teflon and stainless steel) and irregular surface geometries in pharmaceutical manufacturing equipment, using an infrared spectrum analyzer. The need to access locations deep in inside an object will drive the requirement to miniaturize this technology and to develop novel means of accessing particularly difficult locations. For example, in aircraft maintenance, the need to probe the molecular integrity of composite material in the fuselage of a plane will require a miniature analyzer coupled with highly sensitive detector and flexible sampling probe. The outcome of this work will be the invention of a miniaturized FTIR-based surface analyzer, which will find application in a host of key industries.The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is substantial and will benefit a number of manufacturing related industries. By understanding what is required to develop useful technology for characterizing a wide range of surfaces by infrared analysis, as well as miniaturizing the technology for use in non-lab environments, a host of industrial applications become accessible. For example, in the pharmaceutical industry the technology will lead to on-site cleaning verification that reduces manufacturing equipment down-time and the costs to produce pharmaceuticals. In the aerospace industry, many surfaces must be cleaned, and verified as clean, during manufacturing and maintenance in order to ensure that coatings, paints and primers are effectively applied to metal, polymer and composite surfaces. For devices as sophisticated as the next generation space shuttle or composite base commercial airlines, the need to know that surfaces are properly cleaned and/or prepared is critical as it impacts vehicle maintenance and safety.