DocumentCode :
3464977
Title :
Fieldable MEMS gas chromatograph for rapid determinations of explosive marker compounds in complex mixtures
Author :
Collin, W. ; Serrano, Guillermo ; Wright, L.K. ; Chang, H. ; Nunovero, N. ; Zellers, E.T.
Author_Institution :
Center for Wireless Integrated MicroSensing & Syst. (WIMS), Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
fYear :
2013
fDate :
16-20 June 2013
Firstpage :
2763
Lastpage :
2766
Abstract :
A field-ready prototype employing an all-MEMS gas chromatographic microsystem (μGC) for the determination of explosive marker compounds at low concentrations is described. The μGC prototype, which is referred to as INTREPID, relies on a core of Si-micromachined components. The microfabricated analytical subsystem consists of a DRIE-Si/glass microfocuser (μF) packed with a bed of graphitized carbon adsorbent material, a DRIE-Si/glass microcolumn (μcolumn) with integrated heater and temperature sensors wall-coated with PDMS, and a chemiresistor (CR) array consisting of 4 sets of interdigital gold electrodes coated with thiolate-monolayer protected nanoparticles (MPN). A high volume sampler is included upstream of the μF to reduce limits of detection and analysis time. The instrument is controlled by a laptop running routines written in LabView. The three target analytes are 2,4-dinitrotoluene (2,4-DNT), and 2,6-dinitrotoluene (2,6-DNT), which are manufacturing byproducts of 1,3,5-trinitrotoluene (TNT), as well as the taggant 2,3-dimethyl-2,3-dinitrobutane (DMNB). A set of volatile organic compounds representative of jet fuel and common indoor air contaminants, was used to test the selectivity of the prototype. A complete analytical cycle requires 2 min and includes sampling, focusing, injection, separation, and detection. Limits of detection determined with the micro-analytical subsystem were 2.2, 0.5, and 0.9 ng for DMNB, 2,6-DNT, and 2,4-DNT which correspond to 0.30, 0.06, and 0.12 ppb in a 1-L air sample. CR-array response patterns are used to differentiate the markers from interferences.
Keywords :
chromatography; coatings; contamination; explosive detection; gas mixtures; gas sensors; glass; gold; graphite; micromachining; microsensors; monolayers; nanoparticles; nanosensors; petroleum; polymers; sensor arrays; silicon; temperature sensors; virtual instrumentation; μF packing; μGC prototype; 1,3,5-trinitrotoluene; 2,4-DNT; 2,4-dinitrotoluene; 2,6-DNT; 2,6-dinitrotoluene; CR array response pattern; DMNB; DRIE-Si/glass microfocuser; INTREPID; LabView; MPN; PDMS; TNT; chemiresistor array; complex mixture; fieldable MEMS gas chromatographic microsystem; graphitized carbon adsorbent material; indoor air contaminant; integrated heater; interdigital gold electrode coating; jet fuel; manufacturing byproduct; microfabricated analytical subsystem; micromachined component; monolayer protected nanoparticle; rapid explosive marker compound determination; taggant 2,3-dimethyl- 2,3-dinitrobutane; temperature sensor; volatile organic compound; Arrays; Compounds; Explosives; Focusing; Heating; Instruments; Prototypes; explosives; micro gas chromatograph; microsystem; nanoparticles; sensor array;
fLanguage :
English
Publisher :
ieee
Conference_Titel :
Solid-State Sensors, Actuators and Microsystems (TRANSDUCERS & EUROSENSORS XXVII), 2013 Transducers & Eurosensors XXVII: The 17th International Conference on
Conference_Location :
Barcelona
Type :
conf
DOI :
10.1109/Transducers.2013.6627378
Filename :
6627378
Link To Document :
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