A BYU chemistry professor has developed a device able to identify the chemical composition of a substance.
The portable project, which Professor Milton Lee has worked on since fall 2002, was licensed to Utah-based company Torion Technologies Inc. in March.
About the size of a briefcase, the device was originally intended for the military, to be used in the field to detect chemical threats. Because of its nature, the U.S. Department of State helped fund much of its progress.
"I thought that it would be a good thing to develop a hand-portable detection system for combating terrorism," said Lee of the conceptual force behind the innovation.
The device works by collecting a sample with a tool that functions like a syringe, and is then connected to the primary part of the device, which separates the chemicals and matches them to one of the chemicals listed in its internal database. The names and amounts of each chemical appear on a small screen, indicating to its operator whether the sample contains any dangerous substances. The whole process takes less than 10 minutes.
"Typical systems that do this are large, laboratory systems that require a lot of power," Lee said in a press release. "We have miniaturized the system so we can operate on batteries. Now we can make the measurements and detect hazardous chemicals on the spot instead of sending samples back to the lab."
While the device currently detects chemical warfare agents, the next step is to develop methods that apply to biological agents, such as anthrax.
Copyright Brigham Young University 14 Apr 2008
