Microchip Capillary Electrophoresis for In Situ Water Analysis, Phase I

The proposed SBIR effort directly satisfies important needs described in NASA SBIR 2015 Subtopic H3.01 Environmental Monitoring for Spacecraft Cabins - Measurement of Inorganic Species in Water. The technology developed will provide new water quality analysis capabilities designed for measurement of inorganic species/contaminates on board the International Space Station and other spacecraft. This directly addresses the NASA Human Exploration and Operations Directorate goals by providing technology to enable the safe and extended use of the International Space Station. The proposed technology is also highly relevant the needs of Human-Robotic Space Exploration and Space Life & Physical Science Research Applications. The instrument will prove improved and enhanced technology to overcome analytical constraints that may be encountered in future Science Exploration missions. Chemical separation and analysis of inorganic ions from aqueous matrices is a fundamental need in many industries including: pharmaceutical, chemical, food and beverage, environmental, and medical, and biotech. Our SBIR developed compact automated instrument system is particularly suited for the measurement of trace levels of inorganic contaminates in drinking water. The innovative power of our system stems from automation and robustness, which greatly improves portability and allows use in remote regions across the globe. As an automated system for medical applications, our instrument will provide point-of-use technology for the identification and quantification of inorganics (and organics) in biological fluids with lab-on-a-chip analysis. The instrument is well suited for numerous potential commercial applications where separation and of inorganic species is required including: soil analysis, materials science, in situ resource recovery, monitoring of contamination from process systems and catalyst beds. More »