SBIR Phase I: Hand-held Reagentless Trace Chemical (TraC) Water Quality Sensor

建议书编号IIP-1315831这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目旨在开发和演示一种低成本、手持、无试剂的仪器，为环境、城市垃圾处理、工业垃圾和其他固定和移动水测量设备提供实时、原位的水中痕量化学污染物检测。微量化学品(TRAC)传感器的一个具体例子是针对在线或离线监测系统，该系统将提高旨在通过同步硝化和反硝化(SNDN)去除氮的废水处理系统的可靠性和性能。这是一个主要的潜在环境污染源的例子。建议的创新传感器采用深紫外光激发共振拉曼光谱(DUV-RR)和自然荧光光谱技术，无需试剂、样品处理或复杂的校准程序，即可实时、原位地测量生物营养物质去除(BNR)系统反应器中的硝酸盐和亚硝酸盐。TRAC传感器集成了两项新技术，可大幅降低尺寸、重量、功耗和成本：一种是窄线宽且稳定的深紫外光激光器新技术；另一种是高数据速率线阻栅极电荷耦合器件阵列探测器。该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是取代目前用于测量水、空气、土壤或表面中的大量或微量污染物的许多分析仪器。大多数现有的仪器需要大量的样品准备和处理，以及试剂和其他消耗品的使用。由于测量的基本非接触性、非侵入性和速度，分析污染物的光学方法继续变得越来越重要。拉曼光谱和天然荧光光谱越来越多地被用来在化学鉴定中提供高水平的特异性，而不需要染料标签或标记。到目前为止，这已经在大多数工作在可见光和红外下的仪器上完成了。在这些波长下工作对可以检测到的化学物质的类型和浓度造成了很大的限制，因为在这些波长处的微弱拉曼发射的低截面和/或荧光遮挡。移动到250纳米以下的深紫外光提供了一种解决方案，这种解决方案已经在大型实验室仪器中得到了证明，但在手持仪器中还不可能。这将为在广泛的水和土壤环境、力量保护以及市政、工业、农业和医疗应用中进行痕量污染物检测开辟许多市场。

Proposal Number IIP-1315831This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to develop and demonstrate a low cost, hand-held, reagentless instrument to provide real-time, in-situ, detection of trace chemical contaminants in water for environmental, municipal waste treatment, industrial waste, and other fixed and mobile water measurement settings. A specific example of the Trace Chemical (TraC) sensor is aimed at an on-line or off-line monitoring system that will improve the reliability and performance of wastewater treatment systems that are designed to remove nitrogen through Simultaneous Nitrification and DeNitrification (SNdN). This is an example of a major source of potential environmental contamination. The technology of the proposed innovative sensor is deep ultraviolet excited resonance Raman (DUV-RR) and native fluorescence spectroscopy which will enable real time, in situ, measurement of nitrate and nitrite in Biological Nutrient Removal (BNR) system reactors without the need for reagents, sample handling, or complex calibration procedures. The TraC sensor integrates two new technologies to provide dramatic reductions in size, weight, power consumption, and cost: a new technology narrow and stable linewidth deep UV laser and a new technology high data rate linear resistive gate CCD array detector. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is to replace many analytical instruments that are currently employed to measure bulk or trace contaminants in water, air, soils, or surfaces. Most existing instruments require a significant amount of sample preparation and handling as well as the use of reagents and other consumables. Optical methods of analyzing contaminants continue to gain importance because of the basic non-contact, non-invasive nature, and speed of the measurement. Raman and native fluorescence spectroscopy has been increasingly employed to provide high levels of specificity in chemical identification without the need for dye tags or labels. This has been done to date in instruments mostly operating in the visible and infrared. Operating at these wavelengths has provided significant limitations in the types and concentrations of chemicals that can be detected because of low cross-sections and/or fluorescence obscuration of weak Raman emissions at these wavelengths. Moving to the deep UV below 250 nm offers a solution which has been demonstrated in large laboratory instruments but not yet possible in hand-held instruments. This will open up many markets for trace contaminant detection in a broad range of water, and soil environmental, force protection, and municipal, industrial, agricultural, and medical applications.