Novel Detection Interface for Gas Chromatography/Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopic Analysis

Polestar Technologies, Inc., proposes to develop a field-portable gas chromatography/ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (GC/FTIR) instrument that is based on a novel infrared detection interface for the hyphenated GC/FTIR analysis technique. The new GC/FTIR interface will have substantial advantages over the conventional infrared lightpipe interface in improved detection sensitivity, reduced cost, and greater portability. Currently, GC/FTIR analysis is used less frequently than gas chromatography/mass spectrometry because of the higher instrument costs and reduced sensitivity of GC/FTIR, even though this infrared detection technique provides better identification of chemical isomers and can handle much higher analyte concentrations without sample dilution. Portable GC/FTIR instruments have not yet been developed, in part because the current lightpipe interfaces employ a liquid nitrogen-cooled HgCdTe detector and are not very amenable to field-portable use. The proposed program will develop the improved GC/FTIR interface as well as a field-portable GC/FTIR instrument. The field-portable GC/FTIR system with the improved infrared interface will find applications such as analysis of environmental water, soil, and air samples for high-level and trace volatile and semivolatile organic compounds; and in the identification of unknown leaked or stored compounds at chemical accident or spill sites. Because of the improved performance and lower cost, there will be additional applications for the novel infrared interface in desktop GC/FTIR systems, including regulated analysis of aromatics and oxygenates in gasoline and the analysis of mixtures from organic synthesis reactions in industrial and academic research laboratories.