Microchip Capillary Electrophoresis for In Situ Water Analysis

In this Small business Innovate Research (SBIR) project, Leiden Measurement Technology, LLC (LMT) will develop a portable microfludic analysis instrument for measurement of inorganic ions present in potable water supplies, thermal control system cooling water, and human waste water. A primary goal of the Phase I effort is to identify and demonstrate the most viable development path to advance current state-of-the-art NASA microfluidic analytical instrument technology into a user-friendly, compact, and automated instrument platform for use on the International Space Station. In this SBIR Phase I effort, LMT will advance current state-of-the-art technologies by performing a proof-of-concept demonstration of Microchip Capillary Electrophoresis (MCE) with Capacitively-Coupled Contactless Detection (C4D) for the rapid separation, detection and quantification of inorganic ions specified in NASA Spacecraft Water Exposure Guidelines (SWEG). The specific objectives of this Phase I R&D effort are: 1) Design and build a prototype C4D for use with MCE. 2)Assemble a MCE breadboard system for proof-of-concept demonstration of separation of inorganic ions using the C4D prototype.3) Demonstrate the separation of inorganic cations listed in the SWEG using the MCE C4D breadboard. 4)Use the data collected with the prototype to define requirements and develop a design for a Phase II instrument.