UK:Development of a marketable nanoparticle-assisted high-throughput prototype system for chemical speciation measurements of trace elements (DIFFNAL)

根据最近的一项研究，受污染的水、土壤和空气是造成全球至少900万人死亡的疾病的原因，每年造成数万亿美元的损失。砷、汞和铬等微量元素的污染日益引起生态和全球公众健康的关注，并在环境立法的列表中名列前茅。微量元素的迁移性和毒性主要取决于它们的化学形式（或种类），而不是它们的总含量。例如，虽然三价铬（亚铬酸盐）可以被认为是一种膳食补充剂，但六价铬（铬酸盐）是有毒的，可能致癌。由于不同的元素种类表现出非常不同的物理化学性质和不同的毒性，因此许多监管、健康和安全组织越来越需要测量和监测环境中这些单独的有毒元素种类。然而，目前缺乏任何强大的物种形成技术限制了我们监测和控制环境污染的能力。这种分析能力的缺乏也对分析化学的许多其他分支构成了挑战。我们最近开发了一种新的设备（被称为MANUNAL），有可能提供快速分析各种各样的样品的物种形成。这将膜技术与具有特殊特性的新型可分选活性纳米材料的设计相结合。该提案旨在建立和商业化用于铬形态分析的母体装置。该项目还寻求成立一家牛津大学的衍生公司，该公司将建立和商业化新的技术路线，包括单分析物和多分析物的血液分析仪器。CNONAL是一种全新的技术，原因如下：1-高灵敏度和选择性的离子分离技术2-单步快速分离（< 10分钟），无需或只需最少的样品处理3-无需专门的用户培训4-环境友好的技术，不需要有害的试剂或溶剂5-能够快速重新取样，每天处理大量样品6-关键是，它保持了物质的“化学特性”和分布，因此反映了样品中物质的“真实”分馏，使其成为唯一能够分析空气敏感或不稳定样品的技术。Oxford-Teledyne联盟的具体目标是：1。开发一个功能单一的分析物MANNAL α原型系统，用于不同类型基质（包括环境样品）中的铬形态分析。2.使用ICP-OES对医用器械进行初步耦合测试。这种与ICP-OES的初始耦合优于ICP-MS，因为它简单并且由于低成本而具有潜在的商业化。3.对现有技术（包括耦合HPLC-ICP-MS）的CONONAL性能进行基准测试。我们的初始分析测试将使用我们现有的伏安-CONONAL系统与HPLC-ICP-MS进行。在评估性能参数后，开发营销材料和产妇技术的投资计划书。牛津大学的一家分拆公司（NanoMetalytics）成立。新的分支机构将负责开发优先污染物的单一和多分析物母体形态系统。该系统已经作为一种物种形成技术获得了专利。因此，该技术为仪器分析部门提供了一种新颖、有效和低成本的化学形态分析技术的新方法。鉴于全球对环境污染物的管制和痕量元素的环境监测的压力越来越大，以及化学形态的相关成本，这一领域的创新是非常及时的。关键词：药物，化学形态;痕量元素;水污染，质谱，ICP-MS，ICP-OES

Polluted water, soil and air are responsible for the diseases that kill at least nine million people worldwide and cost trillions of dollars every year according to a recent research. Contamination with trace elements such as arsenic, mercury, and chromium of an increasing ecological and global public health concern and at the top of the list for environmental legislations. The mobility and toxicity of trace elements depends especially on their chemical forms (or species) rather than their total content. For example, while trivalent chromium (chromite) can be considered a dietary supplement, hexavalent chromium (chromate) is toxic and potentially carcinogenic. Because different elemental species exhibit very different physiochemical properties and varying toxicities, it is becoming vital and increasingly demanded by many regulatory, health and safety organisations to measure and monitor these individual toxic elemental species in the environment. However, the current lacking in any robust speciation technique limits our ability to monitor and control environmental pollution. This lack of analytical ability also poses a challenge to many other branches of analytical chemistry. We have recently developed a novel device (termed DIFFNAL) that has the potential to provide rapid analysis of speciation of a wide variety of samples. This combines membrane technology with design of novel sortable active nanomaterials with special characteristics. This proposal seeks to build and commercialise a DIFFNAL device for chromium speciation. This project also seeks to form an Oxford University spin-out company that would build and commercialise new lines of the technology including single analyte and multi-analyte DIFFNAL instruments. DIFFNAL is a completely novel technology for the following reasons:1- Highly sensitive and selective ion separation technology2- Single-step and fast separation (< 10 min) with no or minimum sample handling3- No specialised user training required4- An environmentally friendly technology as no harmful reagents or solvents required.5- Capability to re-sample quickly and to process a large number of samples per day6- Critically, it maintains the 'chemical character' and distribution of species and hence reflects the 'true' fractionation of species in a sample, making it the only available technology capable of analysing air-sensitive or unstable samples. The Oxford-Teledyne consortium specific aims are to:1. Develop a functional single analyte DIFFNAL alpha-prototype system for chromium speciation in different types of matrixes including environmental samples. 2. Preliminary coupling tests of the DIFFNAL device with an ICP-OES. This initial coupling with ICP-OES is favoured over ICP-MS because of it simplicity and potential commercialisation due to low cost. 3. Benchmark the performance of DIFFNAL against existing technologies including the coupled HPLC-ICP-MS. Our initial analytical testing will be carried out using our existing Voltammtery-DIFFNAL system vs HPLC-ICP-MS. 4. Upon evaluation of the performance parameters, to develop marketing material and an investment prospectus for DIFFNAL technology.5. An Oxford University spin-out company (NanoMetalytics) with be formed. The new spin-out will be responsible for the development of single- and multi-analyte DIFFNAL speciation systems for priority contaminants. The DIFFNAL system has already been patented as a speciation technology. As such this technology presents the instrumental analytical sector with a novel approach for a novel, effective and low-cost chemical speciation technology. Given the increasing global pressure on regulating environmental contaminants and environmental monitoring of trace elements and the associated costs for chemical speciation, innovation in this area is extremely timely.Keywords: DIFFNAL, Chemical Speciation; trace elements; water pollution, Mass spectrometry, ICP-MS, ICP-OES