Technologies to Defeat Improvised Explosive Devices (IED's)

In this Phase I SBIR Proposal, Nanotherapeutics, Inc. proposes to demonstrate the improved proximity detection of hexamethylene triperoxidediamine (HMTD) and triacetone triperoxide (TATP) explosives using its proprietary NanobreathTM preconcentrator and 4-SAW array. The NanobreathTM 4-SAW Array, a novel, portable, rapid gas chromotography (GC) system, currently being developed for medical testing and diagnosis, will be evaluated for the rapid detection of Improvised Explosive Devices (IED's) at safe distances. While most conventional explosives detectors rely on the presence of nitrogen groups in the explosive molecule to obtain a positive response, non-nitrogen containing HMTD and TATP peroxide explosives present a serious challenge to detection and neutralization by counter-terrorism and security forces. Nanotherapeutics proposes to (1) evaluate different concentrations of HMTD and TATP in ambient air, (2) evaluate different preconcentrator adsorbant materials and air collection volumes for proximity sampling, and (3) evaluate different chemoselective polymer coatings on surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensors to measure the linear response range and limit of detection (LOD). It is proposed to demonstrate the feasibility of the NanobreathTM system for improved proximity detection in the Phase I Project towards the development of a robust commercializable explosive detection system in the Phase II Project.