GOALI: Research and development of chip-integrated, magnetic-resonance-based platforms for chemical sensing of trace systems and nuclear polarization of fluids

这项由数学和物理科学理事会化学学部和多学科活动办公室化学测量和成像项目颁发的GOALI（与工业界学术联络的资助机会）奖，纽约城市学院（CCNY）的Carlos Meriles教授和德克萨斯大学达拉斯分校的Orlando Auciello教授及其学生将与先进钻石技术公司（ADT）的研究人员合作。开展利用金刚石近表面顺磁缺陷特性的新技术的基础和应用研究与开发。该项目将结合晶体生长技术、自旋控制方案、微流体和分子标记技术，开发芯片集成结构，使目标分析物与超纯金刚石表面附近产生的顺磁中心接触，特别是氮空位（NV）中心和取代氮。中心目标是使用顺磁中心作为敏感探针，专门用于检测溶液中预先定义的痕量物质的存在。研究计划包括一系列明确构思的原理验证实验，以促进这些传感技术向市场的转移。基础科学和应用科学将被执行，随后的系统可能会找到广泛的用途，从化学分析和医学诊断，生物防御，环境监测和食品安全。磁共振（MR）测量以在医学成像中的有用性而闻名，但这些测量的一种密切变体广泛用于化学分析，因为它们提供了有关样品组成和分子结构的丰富信息。然而，磁共振测量的检测限通常太高，无法用于痕量分析，例如环境监测和医疗诊断。该项目将通过将目标分子与标签耦合来降低MR测量的检测极限，这些标签在与金刚石膜中故意诱导的缺陷相互作用时产生非常强的MR信号。除了技术和科学优势外，该项目还将通过创业和创业培训来丰富博士生和博士后的教育。为了实现这一目标，研究人员计划开展各种活动，建立在与他们的工业合作伙伴ADT的密切联系之上。ADT公司目前正在商业化基于独家薄膜金刚石技术的新一代工业和生物设备。拟议的研发项目包括在学术导师和行业合作伙伴的联合监督下为学生和博士后提供实习机会，由领先的行业科学家举办以学生为导向的研讨会，以及旨在促进研究成果向行业转移的定期网络互动。这些计划在CCNY和UTD这两所拥有大量少数民族学生的院校具有特殊意义。利用现有的各种招聘渠道，该项目的教学、指导和职业咨询部分将真正扩大参与，同时鼓励科学界代表性不足的群体在学术界和工业界追求科学事业。

With this GOALI (Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry) award from the Chemical Measurements and Imaging program in the Chemistry Division and the Office of Multidisciplinary Activities in the Mathematics and Physical Sciences Directorate, Professors Carlos Meriles at the City College of New York (CCNY) and Orlando Auciello of the University of Texas at Dallas and their students will partner with investigators at Advanced Diamond Technologies, Inc. (ADT), Romeoville, IL to perform basic and applied research and development of novel technologies that exploit the properties of near-surface paramagnetic defects in diamond. The project will combine crystal growth techniques, spin control schemes, and microfluidics and molecular labeling technology to develop chip-integrated structures where a target analyte is brought in contact with paramagnetic centers -- specifically nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers and substitutional nitrogen -- generated near the surface of ultra-pure diamond. The central goal is to use the paramagnetic centers as sensitive probes tailored to detect the presence of pre-defined trace materials in solution. The research plan includes a range of proof-of-principle experiments explicitly conceived to facilitate the transfer of these sensing technologies to the market. The basic and applied science to be performed and the systems that will ensue are likely to find broad use ranging from chemical analysis and medical diagnostics, to bio-defense, environmental monitoring, and food safety.Magnetic resonance (MR) measurements are well known for the usefulness in medical imaging, but a close variant of these measurements are widely used in chemical analysis because they provide a wealth of information about sample composition and molecular structure. However, the detection limits of MR measurements are typically too high for use in trace analyses, such as environmental monitoring and medical diagnostics. This project will seek to lower the detection limits of MR measurements by coupling the target molecule to tags that produce very strong MR signals as they interact with deliberately induced defects in diamond films. Besides the technological and scientific advantages, this project will enrich the education of PhD students and postdocs through training in entrepreneurship and new venture creation. To meet this goal, the investigators plan various activities that build on the close ties to their industrial collaborator ADT, a company presently commercializing a new generation of industrial and biodevices based on exclusive thin-film diamond technology. The proposed R&D program includes internships for students and postdocs under the combined supervision of an academic mentor and an industry partner, student-oriented seminars by lead industrial scientists, and regular cyber-enabled interactions designed to facilitate the transfer of research results to industry. These plans gain special meaning at CCNY and UTD, two institutions with a large population of minority students. Capitalizing on the various recruitment channels at hand, the teaching, mentoring and career counseling components of this project will truly broaden participation, while encouraging groups underrepresented in the sciences to pursue scientific careers both in academia and industry.