Nanoparticle Sensor for RDX and Other Nitroamine-Based Explosives

Highlights

Sensors for the detection of explosives are important for humanitarian de-mining, remediation of explosives waste sites, homeland security, and forensic applications. Different sensors for analyzing explosives have developed recently.

However, the detection of more hazardous explosives such as hexahydro-l,3,5-trinitro- 1,3,5-trizine (RDX) or pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) is significantly less developed. There is a need to improve the sensitivities associated with the analysis of these substrates.  Existing analytical protocols suffer from insufficient sensitivity, lack of specificity, long analysis time intervals, and/or complex and expensive analytical protocols.

Our Innovation

An ultrasensitive method for detecting non-aromatic, non-planar nitroamine analytes

• determining the presence of molecules and their concentration 

Technology

• The use of nanoparticle matrices for ultra-sensitive and selective detection of non-aromatic, and structurally non-planar nitroamine analyte molecules such as hexahydro-l,3,5-trinitro-l,3,5-triazine (RDX) and other nitroamine compounds.
• The method comprising contacting a matrix of a plurality of transition metal nanoparticles (TMNPs)