2010 R&D 100 Winner
The Ion Mobility Spectrometer on a Microchip is a dime-sized device with a scalable multichannel architecture that accelerates the speed of analyses by more than 100 times using field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS). Developed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash., the device incorporates the nanofabrication techniques of Owlstone Ltd., Cambridge, U.K. It can serve as a key component of a gas analyzer or chemical monitor, or can be used for mass spectrometry or liquid chromatography.
The FAIMS approach separates compounds according to how their charged forms move through a gas under a varying electric field. Slow speed, spectral distortions, poor dynamic range, and sensitivity limited capacity to date. The developers were able to overcome the previous limitations through dramatic miniaturization of the device and the gap between FAIMS electrodes. The gap width was reduced by one to two orders of magnitude compared with previous designs, accelerating separation by 100 to 10,000 times.
Technology
Ion mobility spectrometer on a microchip
Developers
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Owlstone Ltd.
Development Team
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| (l-r): Keqi Tang, Richard D. Smith, Alexandre Shvartsburg, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory |
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| (l-r): Andrew Koehl, David Ruiz Alonso, Billy Boyle, Danielle Toutoungi, Owlstone, Ltd. |
The Ion Mobility Spectrometer on a Microchip Development Team:
Paul (Billy) Boyle, Owlstone Ltd
Andrew Koehl, Owlstone Ltd
David Ruiz Alonso, Owlstone Ltd
Alexandre Shvartsburg, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Richard Smith, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Keqi Tang, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Danielle Toutoungi, Owlstone Ltd
