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要求，以及实验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。 拟议的分析仪是独一无二的，因为它将能够有效地在各种各样的不规则的和以前难以接近的表面上的各种成分与药物清洁验证和航空航天维修应用。 具体而言，该项目将确定检测各种材料上活性药物成分痕量水平的最佳方法（即，聚四氟乙烯和不锈钢）和不规则表面几何形状的制药设备，使用红外光谱分析仪。 访问对象内部深处位置的需求将推动对该技术的需求，并开发访问特别困难位置的新方法。 例如，在飞机维护中，探测飞机机身中复合材料的分子完整性的需要将需要与高灵敏度检测器和柔性取样探针相结合的微型分析仪。 这项工作的成果将是发明一种小型化的基于FTIR的表面分析仪，该分析仪将在许多关键行业中得到应用。该项目的广泛影响/商业潜力是巨大的，将使许多制造业相关行业受益。 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内容，以及将该技术用于非实验室环境，可以获得大量工业应用。 例如，在制药行业，该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进行清洁，并验证为清洁，以确保涂料，油漆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基于复合材料的商业航空公司这样复杂的设备，需要知道表面被适当地清洁和/或准备是至关重要的，因为它影响车辆维护和安全。

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.