| PROPOSAL NUMBER: | B3.01-9123 (For NASA Use Only - Chron: 012876 ) |
| PROPOSAL TITLE: | A Microfluidic Ion Analyzer |
TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
To establish a human presence on the Mars or other remote base locations, these missions will have either minimal or no re-supply of resources. Regenerative physicochemical and biological technologies will sustain the crews in the closed-loop life support system. One of the highest priorities will be to process and recover clean air and water. Monitoring and determining the purity of the air and water is of critical importance. State-of-the-art ground-based instrumentation is widely available, however these technologies are not suitable for spaceflight because of weight, volume, power and microgravity limitations. Recent advances in microfluidics permit development of new analytical methods which will meet the requirements of the spaceflight environment. For water monitoring, Lynntech proposes development of a microfluidic analytical device which minimizes the requirements for reagents, can be designed and operated as a hand-held instrument and will be capable of monitoring a wide range of ionic species not previously available in any commercial instrument. This Phase I project will focus on development and testing of a device for quantification of ammonia in water. Basic microsensor capabilities already exist within Lynntech and our understanding of these leading-edge methods will permit successful development and demonstration of miniaturized analytical capability.
POTENTIAL COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS
Ammonia, nitrate and nitrite are of critical importance especially in wastewater treatment facilities. The proposed ion analyzer can be used to monitor the performance of wastewater treatment facilities. Although the proposed ion analyzer focuses upon the analysis of ammonia, nitrate and nitrite, its analytical capability extends to a wide range of ionic species and the analyzer can be used for a wide range of applications; monitoring acid rain, analysis of nutrients in lake, analysis of ingredients in food and beverage, measurements of electrolytes in biological samples, etc. This analyzer can be an alternative to a widely used laboratory-based ion chromatography, yet offering a rapid, simple and on-site measurement at a much lower cost. The proposed analyzer can be also an alternative to ion-selective electrodes, but with much more sensitive detection limits and little interference with similar ions, at a comparable price.
NAME AND ADDRESS OF PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
(Name, Organization Name, Mail Address, City/State/Zip)
Dalibor Hodko
Lynntech, Inc.
7610 Eastmark Drive
College Station , TX 77840 - 4024
NAME AND ADDRESS OF OFFEROR
(Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/Zip)
Lynntech, Inc.
7610 Eastmark Drive
College Station , TX 77840 - 4024