In a project funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Bill Whitten and Peter Reilly of ORNL'S Chemical Sciences Division are teaming with Honeywell to develop a micro gas analyzer the size of a cell phone that combines a very small gas chromatograph with a tiny mass spectrometer. The researchers are testing the GC- MS sensor's ability to detect trace amounts of dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP), a nerve gas simulant. Miniature GC-MS sensors could be worn by warfighters to help them detect a very-low- level chemical threat and warn them to evacuate or remediate the contaminated area in time to survive.
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