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Volatile Organic Compound Detection

Our technology involves the development of a low cost, low energy, miniaturized, comprehensive, two-dimensional gas chromatograph (GCxGC) which has been developed to produce an integrated micro GCxGC device aimed at analysing gaseous volatile organic compounds. This instrumentation would provide a much higher resolution than current micro-GC systems on the market.

The power of GCxGC to isolate individual organic species from a complex matrix in two-dimensions makes it comparable in terms of specificity to lab-based GC systems coupled to mass spectrometry. Effectively the device is a sensitive electronic nose that can discriminate a wide variety of volatile organic compounds.

Benefits

• Sensitivity is in the parts per trillion range
• Resolve highly complex mixtures of compounds
• Portable and suitable for field-based situations
• Fast analysis time
• Headspace sampling
• Low manufacturing costs
• Adaptable to new detection criteria
• Low power consumption
• Development possible for non-expert users (Yes/No answers)

Applications

Potential applications include:

• Detection of pollutants and trace chemicals in air
• Homeland security – detection of explosives or drugs in enclosed spaces such as cargo containers
• Authentication of potentially contraband substances such as fuel or alcoholic liquor
• Process control in the chemical industry, by detection of unwanted impurities
• Analysis of breath samples for diagnosis of disease
• Environmental monitoring and assessment on brown field sites or in buildings with poor air quality.

Investment readiness status

Collaborators are sought to licence the technology or to develop the instrument to market-readiness stage

IP status