Field-Deployable Monitor for Chemical Warfare Agents

"This Small Business Innovation Research project addresses the development of a field-deployable monitor for detecting chemical warfare agents by their infrared spectrochemical signature. Phase I studies will demonstrate the potential capabilitieslow power, small size, and ultrasensitive chemical sensor for monitoring the presence of chemical warfare agents, which pose a significant threat to health and environment. Successful completion of Phase I would enable the development of afield-deployable monitor during Phase II for reliably detecting the presence of these hazardous compounds in a "real-world" environment. Technical objectives for Phase I will focus on developing a novel chemical sensor with the following advantageousproperties: (1) rapid, reliable, and reproducible response to part-per-billion concentrations of chemical warfare agents, (2) stable over long periods of time without the need for recalibrating, (3) effects due to environmental factors either negligible oreasily removed, and (4) integratable with a microcontroller-based instrument. The development of a field-deployable monitor, as proposed herein, would dramatically enhance the capability of federal, state, and local emergency response to incidentsinvolving chemical terrorism. The development of a small, low power, sensitive, and selective instrument for detecting chemical warfare agents will dramatically impact both military and commercial sectors.