SBIR Phase II: Highly Sensitive Nanofiber Sensors for Trace Detection of Explosives

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a working prototype of a handheld detector for trace explosives that is smaller, more sensitive, and has faster response times than any commercially available portable device today. Under NSF Phase I SBIR funding of this project, Vaporsens, Inc. successfully developed new organic nanofiber sensory materials required to achieve these goals. In Phase II, the company will design and optimize the sensor systems, electronic hardware, firmware and algorithm software required to build a handheld detector. The novel nanofiber sensory materials developed by Vaporsens will enable the proposed detector to simultaneously detect all three important categories of explosives with greater sensitivity, due to detection limits in the parts per trillion range. Prototypes will be subjected to third party testing to validate the rapid, sensitive, and selective detection of common explosives. The Phase II project will also permit the design and fabrication of new sensor materials, with the aim of further improving the sensing sensitivity and selectivity of subsequent devices through interface chemistry optimization. The broader impact/commercial potential of the project will reduce the impact of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) which are a leading cause of casualties in contemporary warfare. IED use outside of warfare is growing, with over 170 incidents reported in the US alone during the first six months of 2013. As a result, the worldwide annual sales for trace explosives detection equipment has grown to approximately $400 million. However, these technologies are limited in their effectiveness. Swabbing machines require contact; bomb-sniffing dogs are expensive, need to work with the same handler, and have limited endurance; and imaging technologies are only practical in checkpoint settings due to size and expense. In contrast, the small size and high sensitivity of the proposed detector will be used for exacting detection of trace amounts of explosives in nearly any location, without swabbing, and at a cost that meets or exceeds the lowest price of detectors on the market. The commercialized device will be the first of its kind to allow local law enforcement and other public safety officials, border security and the military to "sniff" suspicious bags, vehicles, lockers, and people for dangerous explosive threats with immediate results regardless of their location.