PICOYUNE — Department of Health and Human Services SBIR Phase II: NIEHS

Description

DESCRIPTIONprovided by applicantOur proposed project"Gold nanoparticle based mercury analyzer for on site measurements of soil and sediment " will develop a powerful and portable mercury analyzerThis project will continue the work from Phase Iby combining the nanoparticle based detector with a thermal catalytic sample introduction systemGold nanoparticle based plasmonic mercury sensing is inexpensiveultra sensitiveand ideal for portable applicationsThe thermal catalytic sample introduction system will be low powerwith low sample loss and high throughputit also does not require the use of wet chemicals or other consumablesThe commercial instrument resulting from combining these two subsystems will be lightweightltlbssensitive to levels of concern for remediationlt mg kg Hgand operate on battery powerExtensive field testing will be conducted to ensure the mercury sensor is suitable for replacing the current costly and time consuming laboratory methodsThe development of such a device will benefit all parties concerned with mercury monitoring and the remediation of contaminated sitesMercury monitoring costs hundreds of millions of dollars a year across diverse scientificindustrialand regulatory groupsThe fundamental issue these groups address is protecting human healthand the environmentfrom the risks of mercury pollution