New Optics for Trace Level Detection of Toxins in Environmental and Biological Sa

描述（由申请人提供）：x射线荧光（XRF）是一种方便、无损、快速的技术，可有效识别各种基质中的特定元素。在世界范围内，有十种元素因其毒性作用而受到管制。挑战在于，这十个元素很难或不可能在传统的XRF或任何其他化学或燃烧技术的规定水平下同时测量。限制医疗、监管和制造团队接触这些毒素的风险既困难又昂贵。XRF最困难的两个元素是镉（Cd）和锑（Sb）。在拟议的项目中，XOS将开发可集成到商用XRF系统中的x射线光学系统。XOS已经为其他医疗、合规和研究仪器提供了其他x射线光学器件。该团队包括世界领先的光学开发和集成光学分析系统。XOS将开发用于Cd和Sb测量的x射线光学器件，达到或超过规定的水平。提出的光学器件是基于将我们成功的商用单色光学器件和双弯曲晶体（DCC）光学器件的能力扩展到比目前可能的更高的能量范围。因此，它们将保留当前DCC光学的高灵敏度和低背景的优点。光学器件将在拟议的项目中进行设计、开发、测试和验证。提出的用于Cd和Sb的新型光学器件将对流行病学研究、职业暴露监测、医疗团队以及制造商具有难以置信的价值，因为该光学器件在XRF仪器中使用准确、可靠、无损、简单易用、价格低廉且紧凑。这种具有光学功能的仪器将对公众健康产生积极影响，可迅速确定风险来源和水平，筛查毒性，评估相关疾病（如肺病或肾病）患者的水平，监测接受螯合治疗的患者，对有职业接触风险的人进行重金属筛查，并帮助制造商和农民消除这些毒素。此外，这些微量金属的体外检测可与基因、环境和健康倡议（GEI）等更广泛接触研究中的现有数据集进行比较。这大大增加了该工具的实用性和适销性。由于广泛的商业应用，这将使医疗、环境和职业暴露应用的低成本仪器的生产成为可能。社会将受益于对这些与许多呼吸、心血管、肾脏、胃肠、血液学和肌肉骨骼疾病有关的金属的作用的进一步了解（卫生与公众服务部1992年、1999年）。用于骨骼、肾脏、心脏、肝脏等其他医学病理研究以及其他领域，如法医、大气、地质、农业、化学、制药等，随着时间的推移，将大大拓宽医学、科学、工业和社会效益。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): X-ray fluorescence (XRF) is a convenient, nondestructive, rapid technique that is effective at identifying specific elements in a wide variety of matrices. There are ten elements regulated for their toxic effects world- wide. The challenge is that these ten elements are difficult or impossible to measure simultaneously at the regulated levels with traditional XRF or any other chemical or combustion technique. It is both difficult and expensive to limit the exposure risk to these toxins for medical, regulatory, and manufacturing teams. Two of the most difficult elements for XRF are cadmium (Cd) and antimony (Sb). In the proposed project, XOS will develop X-ray optics that can be integrated into commercial XRF systems. XOS already provides other x-ray optics for other medical, compliance, and research instruments. The team includes the world leaders in developing optics for and integrating optics into analytical systems. XOS will develop X-ray optics for Cd and Sb measurements that meet or exceed the regulated levels. The proposed optics is based on extending the capabilities of our successful, commercially available monochromatic optics and doubly-curved crystal (DCC) optics to higher energy ranges than are currently possible. Thus, they will retain the high-sensitivity and low-background advantages of the current DCC optics. The optics will be designed, developed, tested, and validated in the proposed project. The proposed new optics for Cd and Sb will be incredibly valuable to epidemiological studies, occupational exposure monitoring, and medical treatment teams, as well as manufacturers by using the optics in an XRF instrument which is accurate, reliable, nondestructive, simple-to-use, inexpensive, and compact. Such an optic-enabled instrument would have a positive impact on public health by rapidly identifying the source and level of risks, screening for toxicity, assessing levels in patients with related diseases (e.g., pulmonary or kidney disease), monitoring patients undergoing chelation therapy, conducting a heavy metal screen for people with an occupational exposure risk, and helping manufacturers and farmers eliminate these toxins. Further, the in-vitro detection of these trace metals could be compared to existing data sets in wider exposure studies such as the Genes, Environment and Health Initiative (GEI). This significantly increases the usefulness and marketability of the instrument. Because of the broad commercial applications, this will enable the production of lower-cost instruments for medical, environmental, and occupational exposure applications. Society will benefit from improved knowledge of the role of these metals which are linked to many respiratory, cardiovascular, renal, gastrointestinal, hematological, and musculoskeletal diseases (DHHS 1992, 1999). Use in bone, renal, heart, liver, etc. studies of other medical pathologies and in other fields such as forensic, atmospheric, geological, agricultural, chemical, pharmaceutical etc. will, over time, greatly broaden the medical, scientific, industrial, and, therefore, societal benefits. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The proposed project will develop the X-ray optics for cadmium and antimony to enable X-ray fluorescence to simultaneously measure the entire range of toxic elements normally monitored for occupational exposure, medical treatment, consumer products, and industrial uses with an instrument which is accurate, reliable, nondestructive, simple-to-use, inexpensive, and compact. Such an optic-enabled instrument would have a positive impact on public health by rapidly identifying the source and level of risks, screening for toxicity, assessing levels in patients with related diseases (e.g., pulmonary or renal disease, and reproductive or developmental effects), monitoring patients undergoing chelation therapy, conducting a heavy metal screen for people with an occupational exposure risk, and helping manufacturers and farmers eliminate these toxins from their products. Further, the in-vitro detection of these trace metals could be compared to existing data sets in wider exposure studies such as the Genes, Environment and Health Initiative (GEI), which significantly increases the usefulness and marketability of the instrument and, therefore, will enable the production of lower- cost instruments for medical, environmental, and occupational exposure applications.