SBIR-STTR Award

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) is a powerful, non-destructive spectroscopy technique used to investigate chemical structure. For the field of nuclear non-proliferation, NMR offers many opportunities for qualitative identification and quantitative analysis of both organic and inorganic components of suspect materials. Recent developments at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have pushed the limits of this technique by using microcoils together with a portable, less than 2kg, 2T permanent magnet. However, the currently-available commercial instrument electronics packages (the so-called 'console'), are not portable. This project will build a portable, battery-powered NMR spectrometer, which includes a magnet and console. The console will be single channel, while the magnet could have a magnetic field intensity as high as 5 Tesla. Keeping costs low will be a major consideration. During Phase I, a portable NMR console will be implemented on a single printed-circuit board. It will be battery-powered, include special slots for possible expansions, and entirely controlled by a laptop computer. The console should be able to operate for at least one hour without recharging the battery.

Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee:
The new console should find use in any application where portability is important: detection of chemical and biological weapons, routine synthesizing in the pharmaceutical industry, and drug detection. Because of its portability, it will become possible to use this NMR instrument in different environments, where it was formerly impossible to do so. The low price also should help generate new applications of magnetic resonance

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) is a powerful, non-destructive spectroscopy technique used to investigate chemical structure. For nuclear non-proliferation, NMR offers many opportunities for qualitative identification and quantitative analysis of both organic and inorganic components of suspect materials, such as solvents, raw materials, and waste materials. This project will develop a portable instrument for the identification and analysis of these suspect materials. Analyses can be done on unprocessed samples, or by addition of a solvent, metal-complexing agent, indicator, or other test reagent, as appropriate. In Phase I, a portable NMR spectrometer console (8.5" x 11.5") was developed. During Phase II, a smaller size console will be developed, along with portable permanent magnets needed to complete the instrument.

Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee:
The portable NMR instrument should have widespread applications, not only for on-site nonproliferation inspections, but also for forensics, the pharmaceutical industry, and the detection of chemical and biological weapons