A Wearable MEMS Gas Chromatograph for Multi-Vapor Determinations

Details

• Personal Author:
  Buggaveeti S ; Kurabayashi K ; Lin Z ; Nidetz R ; Nuñovero N ; Steinecker WH ; Wang J ; Zellers ET ; Zhan C
• Description:
  A wearable gas chromatographic microanalytical system (uGC) for near-real-time recognition and quantification of volatile organic compounds (VOC) in complex mixtures encountered in working environments is described. The battery powered uGC prototype measures 20×15×9 cm, weighs just 2.1 kg, has 3-D printed packaging, and can be worn on the belt to autonomously measure exposures to industrial VOC mixtures several times per hour. Novel features of the discrete DRIE-Si/Pyrex micro-component chips include a dual-adsorbent upreconcentrator/focuser (uPCF) with split-flow injections as narrow as 600 ms (benzene), a 6-m long segmented separation ucolumn with zone heating for power efficient separations; and a fluidically redesigned array of uchemiresistors (uCR) with thiolate-monolayer protected Au nanoparticle (MPN) interface films that provide sensitive detection and diverse response patterns for recognizing eluting VOCs. Embedded microcontrol allows for continuous unattended operation and storage of data for post-exposure downloading and analysis. In our first tests of the complete prototype, we have demonstrated reproducible analyses of mixtures of up to 9 VOCs in 2.5 min (sampling and analysis), linear calibration curves, unique response patterns for mixture components, sub-ppm LODs, and stable responses for 5 days. Initial mock field tests demonstrated successful monitoring of rapidly changing concentrations of three VOCs during a solvent handling task. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Occupational Health Safety Volatile Organic Compounds
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Wearable Equipment Design Gas Chromatography MicroGC Microsystem Monitors Prototype VOCs VOC Sensor Volatile Organic Compounds Wearable Technologies

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• ISSN:
  1877-7058
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Michigan ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  168
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20055721
• Citation:
  Procedia Eng 2016 Sep; 168:1398-1401
• Contact Point Address:
  Edward T. Zellers, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
• Email:
  ezellers@umich.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2016
• Performing Organization:
  University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20130901
• Source Full Name:
  Procedia Engineering
• End Date:
  20170831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:472434d1dc22c0f346ac427f6af4543180de8e91180e6893a9a7e63e8478e427466e6586c2968fabc245b40666e2faa94dc0b2aac6ac0ec614342ec6eeeaa7af
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/213505/cdc_213505_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 737.77 KB ]