MICRODEVICES FOR PROLIFERATION DETECTION

THERE IS A NEED IN THE ARMS CONTROL COMMUNITY FOR A COMPACT, LOW COST, SENSITIVE SENSOR FOR REMOTE DETECTION OF THE PRODUCTS OF PROLIFERATION ACTIVITES. THIS PROJECT IS CONCERNED WITH A SENSOR BASED ON THE MICROCHIP CAPILLARY ELECTROPHORESIS (CE) AND HIGH PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY (HPLC) TECHNOLOGY RECENTLY DEVELOPED AT OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY (ORNL). THIS POTENTIALLY BATTERY-POWERED SENSOR WOULD BE CAPABLE OF INORGANIC ION DETECTION IN THE FIELD FOR ARMS CONTROL VERIFICATION, AS WELL AS NUMEROUS OTHER GOVERNMENT AND COMMERCIAL CHEMICAL SENSING APPLICATIONS. DEVELOPMENT OF THE LASER DIODE BASED LIGHT SOURCE IS BEING PURSUED, AND THE FABRICATION OF THE SEPARATION COLUMNS HAS ALREADY BEEN DEMONSTRATED AT ORNL. PHASE I IS EXPECTED TO ELIMINATE THE KEY REMAINING RISK IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS SENSOR-THE OPTICAL DETECTION SYSTEM. PHASE I SHOULD RESULT IN THE FABRICATION OF THE DETECTION SYSTEM AND THE MEASUREMENT OF THE FLUORESCENCE OF A TEST ANALYTE. A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT WITH ORNL WILL BEGIN TO DESIGN A PROTOTYPE OF THE INTEGRATED MICROCHIP SENSOR THAT WILL BE FABRICATED AND TESTED IN PHASE II.