Development of a Small GC-IMS to Rapidly Detect and Identify Target Compounds of Military and National Security Interest

The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) continues to constitute a serious threat to the security of the United States. Early detection and warning of the use of the WMD on the battlefield is a top priority of the Department of Defense. Likewise, the identification and characterization of WMD facilities and capabilities worldwide comprise critical elements of United States endeavors to counter their proliferation. These national security thrusts, both battlefield defense and intelligence gathering, require the detection of chemical and biological agents, as well as precursors and by-products in their production. Also, other health related issues arising from the Persian Gulf War underscore the need to detect and identify other hazardous and toxic materials in the theater. Ion Mobility Spectrometry (IMS) is proving to be a very effective technology to detect targeted compounds in the battlefield and other sensitive scenarios. The Chemical Agent Monitor (CAM) has already been deployed as a handheld IMS detector. The combination of gas chromatography (GC) with IMS, however, should provide an improved detection capability over CAM which can be plagued with disabling interferences in certain scenarios. This proposal addresses the design of a miniaturized GC-IMS which promises to significantly reduce the size, weight and power of the device without compromising performance.