In-Line Toxicity Monitoring System

Physical Optics Corporation (POC) proposes to continue developing the In-Line TOxicity MOnitoring (TOMO) system to meet the U.S. Army need for an in-line continuous water toxicity monitoring system to maintain the integrity of the 92W tactical water purification system. Based on successful development and testing of a Phase I TOMO prototype, POC proposes in Phase II to develop an easy-to-use, reliable, and sensitive in-line continuous water toxicity monitoring system capable of detecting multiple nerve agents and their hydrolysis products while meeting the required detection level (0.004 mg/L) at low false alarm rate (<5%) and low cost (< $4000 per unit). TOMO is based on the use of AChE reversible inhibitor immobilized on gold electrodes of polymer micromembrane capacitive sensor array and detection of surface stress-induced capacitance change. The capability and feasibility of TOMO was successfully demonstrated in Phase I; POC modeled and simulated the sensor performance and fabricated and tested a sensor chip with three military exposure guideline (MEG) chemicals. Phase II efforts will focus on optimizing the TOMO design, fabricating and testing a prototype capable of detecting multiple nerve agents in water with required detection limit. The Phase II prototype will operate continuously in-line, generating results every five minutes.