Detecting Chemical Vapours from Explosives Using the zNose®, an Ultra-High Speed Gas Chromatograph

Abstract

Gas chromatography is the preferred analytical method for analysis of odours, fragrances, and other chemical vapours. A handheld electronic nose, called the zNose®, incorporating an ultra-high speed GC column, solid-state sensor, programmable gate array (PGA) processor, and an integrated preconcentrator can now provide near real time analysis of odours from explosives. Odours from Primacord, Detasheet, C4, and TATP were analyzed and their chemical composition quantified in less than 10 seconds with pictogram sensitivity. An expandable chemical/odour library based upon Kovats indices provides an effective method of recognizing odours from explosives and allows users to distribute and share odour signatures from chemical or biological threats as well. The zNose® is able to create an almost unlimited number of virtual chemical sensors for monitoring the concentration of target compounds within odours or fragrances. Virtual chemical sensors provide compound specific data for principal component analysis and neural network learning algorithms.