Surface Selective Chiral Detector

A novel approach to the problem of surface-selective chiral detection is presented. In a small and potentially inexpensive optical package, chiral molecules adsorbed to the surface of a guided wave optic are probed via the evanescent field of the guided radiation. Single-mode guided-wave optics are exploited to increases the analyte-probe interaction region compared to traditional methods such as attenuated total-reflectance spectroscopy. Techniques for both circular-dichroism and optical-rotary-dispersion measurements will be studied and compared. In Phase 1 surface selectivity will be demonstrated in an optical-breadboard experiment. In Phase 2 a prototype of a surface-selective chiral spectrometer will be developed. This device promises to be useful in the characterization and understanding of the increasingly important field of chiral stationary phases as it relates to HPLC and enantio-specific synthesis.