Deve;opment of A Handheld Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry

The ability to develop new technology on the basis of existing commercial technology can offer significant cost savings when compared to research programs to develop new technology from scratch. Continuing developments in mass spectrometry (MS), vacuum Systems and high speed gas chromatography (GC) sampling and analysis methods, have created an opportunity to fully demonstrate a powerful handportable GC/MS system in the course of a single Phase I and II SBIR program. This program builds on similar projects at the University of Utah that demonstrated backpack portable GC/MS and high speed roving GC/MS concepts using modified versions of technology in sampling, temperature programmed transfer line GC, low power mass analyzers and lightweight vacuum pumping to create the first handportable GC/MS instrument ready for DOD application testing. This program will be followed by immediate commercialization of the technology for both military and civilian applications.