SBIR Phase II: Carbon Isotope Ratiometer

这个小型企业创新研究二期项目涉及开发一种强大的现场便携式气体分析仪，能够确定深海热液喷口排放的二氧化碳的碳同位素比率。这些喷口提供了被困在海洋下的水的通道，这种独特的厌氧环境没有光合作用，模拟了木卫二和木卫四的冰壳下、火星表面下和原始地球上的条件。初步的碳同位素研究表明，生物活动在这样的环境中发生，并且正在寻求新的仪器来提供进一步的证据。第二阶段的分析仪，基于我们专有的Off-Axis ICOS技术，将在1埃范围内确定原位同位素比值，这足以区分生物碳源和地质碳源，并可能为地下岩石营养微生物生态系统（SLiME）提供证据。拟议中的仪器将与美国宇航局艾姆斯公司开发的美杜莎海底采样系统相连接，将自主运行，能够承受深海喷口附近的恶劣水下条件。第二阶段的工作将包括科学开发，以提高原型的特异性，深海包装，以允许水下部署，以及测试，以证明分析仪的能力。我们新颖的离轴ICOS技术最有前途的市场之一是工业过程控制（IPC）。II期仪器可以直接转换为IPC分析仪，因为它能够在恶劣环境中自主运行，集成了紧凑的控制系统，并使用了复杂的化学计量算法。在16.7亿美元的IPC市场中，目标市场将是那些当前技术过于昂贵或不足的市场，例如乙烯中乙炔污染的快速分析。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project involves the development of a robust, field-portable gas analyzer capable of determining the carbon isotope ratio of carbon dioxide emitting from deep-sea hydrothermal vents. These vents provide access to water that has been trapped under the ocean in a unique, anaerobic environment that is devoid of photosynthesis and emulates the conditions believed to exist under the ice crusts of Europa and Callisto, beneath the surface of Mars, and on primordial Earth. Preliminary carbon isotope studies suggest that biological activity takes place in such an environment and novel instrumentation is sought to provide further evidence. The Phase II analyzer, based upon our proprietary Off-Axis ICOS technology, will determine the isotope ratio in-situ to within 1 angstrom, which is sufficient to discriminate between biogenic and geological carbon sources, and may provide evidence for a Subsurface Lithotrophic Microbiological Ecosystem (SLiME). The proposed instrument, which will interface with the Medusa seafloor sampling system developed by NASA Ames, will operate autonomously and be able to withstand the harsh underwater conditions found near deep-sea vents. The Phase II work will involve scientific development to enhance the prototype's specificity, deep-sea packaging to permit underwater deployment, and testing to demonstrate the analyzer's capabilities. One of the most promising markets for our novel Off-Axis ICOS technology is in industrial process control (IPC). The Phase II instrument can be directly converted to an IPC analyzer due to its ability to autonomously operate in harsh environments, integration of compact control system, and use of sophisticated chemometric algorithms. Within the $1.67B IPC market, the targeted markets will be those in which current technology is either too expensive or insufficient, such as the niche in the fast analysis of acetylene contamination in ethylene.