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Material Measurement Laboratory / Materials Measurement Science Division

Surface and Trace Chemical Analysis Group

Projects/Programs

Displaying 1 - 25 of 31

Advanced Mass Spectrometry Methods for Trace Detection

Ongoing
Ambient Ionization Mass Spectrometry (AI-MS) AI-MS remains a versatile field enabling direct analysis of samples in situ, requiring minimal or no sample preparation. These platforms are leveraged for the trace detection of organic and inorganic compounds, including, homemade and improvised

Aerodynamic Flow Visualization

Ongoing
Other videos: How Well Do Masks Work? (Schlieren Imaging In Slow Motion!) 3 Ways Of Seeing Invisible Air Flow (Veritasium) The Air You Share | All in This Together Publications "Filter Inserts Impact Cloth Mask Performance against Nano- to Micro-Sized Particles" James G. Radney, Jamie L. Weaver

Ambient and Atmospheric Pressure Mass Spectrometry

Ongoing
Surface and Trace Chemical Analysis Group employs a range of commercial pneumatically-assisted electrospray ionization (ESI), atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI), and atmospheric pressure photoionization (APPI) sources for traditional mass spectrometric chemical analysis, identification

Drug Analysis - Opioids and Emerging Threats

Ongoing
Package Interdiction Many synthetic opioids and novel psychoactive substances enter the country through international mail. Research in this area focuses on measurement challenges associated with detection and analysis of these packages at the point of seizure in international mail facilities

Fingerprint Chemistry

Ongoing
Verification Test Materials (VTMs) for Fingerprint Developing Reagents The forensic community has no quantifiable QA/QC method for determining the efficacy of fingerprint developing reagents prior to use in casework. Reagents can be exposed to environmental conditions in the field that can expedite

Fire Debris and Explosives

Ongoing
Fire Debris Fire debris analysis involves the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data of debris collected from fire scenes. Samples are typically analyzed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry which results in a complicated chromatogram that must be interpreted. Projects in this area are

Forensic Chemistry

Ongoing
Drug Analysis - Opioids and Emerging Threats This program primarily seeks to support the needs of the > 400 publicly funded state, local, and tribal forensic laboratories in the United States. The increased complexity of the analysis needed to keep pace with these emerging threats has resulted in
Photo of broken laminated windshield glass

Glass Evidence Analysis

Ongoing
Quantitative XRF Glass Database Recent research efforts in the forensic trace field have focused on the development of databases to assign a significance to forensic evidence (i.e., to report the strength of an association or exclusion). In the forensic analysis of glass using µ-XRF, samples are

Illicit Narcotics Detection

Ongoing
“Method for evaluating ion mobility spectrometers for trace detection of fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances”, Jennifer R Verkouteren, Jeffrey Lawrence, R Michael Verkouteren and Edward Sisco, Analytical Methods, 11(47), 6043-6052 (2019). “Discriminative potential of ion mobility spectrometry

Inkjet Printing and Precision Deposition

Ongoing
Inkjet Droplet Metrology: Drop-on-Demand (DOD) inkjet printing allows precise deposition of picoliter (pL)-size droplets of solutions containing organic or inorganic materials. These drops can be used to create unique patterns, structures, and coatings and build 3-D microstructures making it a

Ion Mobility Spectrometry

Ongoing
IMS employs a drift tube with an applied electric field to separate ionized molecules based on their mobility. The technique is robust and capable of differentiating a wide range of drug and explosive molecules. Recent work has sought to investigate the utility of IMS for screening of illicit
Figure with the word “isotope” and related icons superimposed on a photograph of a man pointing to the figure.

Isotope Metrology

Ongoing
The application of isotope measurements drives advances in an enormous number of fields and stakeholder engagements, including federal and state government agencies, academia, and private industry including the medical industry. The objective of the NIST Isotope Metrology Program is to address the

Magnetic Sector Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry

Ongoing
Magnetic sector SIMS uses high energy “primary” ions to bombard the surface and liberate “secondary” ions much like in ToF-SIMS, but the ion beam is operated continuously to maximize duty cycle. The high ion dose is preferred for depth profiling, where the concentration of elements and isotopes are
Montage of symbolic standard activities

Measurement and Sampling Standards

Ongoing
A foundational activity that crosscuts our research goals is the development of a variety of standards and test materials to support the effective operation of trace explosive and narcotic detection devices. Trace sampling issues are addressed through fundamental studies on the adhesion and
MNP Metrology Program

Microplastic and Nanoplastic Metrology

Ongoing
The Micro and Nanoplastic (MNP) Metrology Project aims to develop a toolbox of methods for size-based separations from complex matrices, chemical characterization protocols, and test materials necessary to enable quantification of micro- and nano-sized plastic particles, a need articulated by our

Nature of the Threat

Ongoing
"Improving Particle Collection Efficiency of Sampling Wipes used for Trace Chemical Detection", Gillen, Greg and Lawrence, Jeffrey and Sisco, Edward and Staymates, Matthew E. and Verkouteren, Jennifer and Robinson, Elizabeth L. and Bulk, Alexander, Anal. Methods, 14, 581-587 (2022). http://dx.doi
Cannabis

NIST Tools for Cannabis Laboratory Quality Assurance

Ongoing
Since the 1970s, cannabis (marijuana and hemp) and its constituent, Δ 9-tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, have been classified as Schedule I controlled substances. Seized evidence is tested by forensic laboratories, which verify the identity of the plant through macro- and microscopic evaluation and the
Point-of-Care Pharmaceutical Manufacturing

Point-of-Care Pharmaceutical Manufacturing & Precision Medicine

Ongoing
We are employing quality by design (QbD) and risk assessment (cause-and-effect) approaches to investigate production technologies ( e.g., drop on demand or inkjet printing platforms) and appropriate analytical control strategies for point-of-care manufacture of narrow therapeutic index drugs

Radioanalytical Metrology

Ongoing
The Group engages in a wide range of methods applicable to the detection and characterization of nuclear materials. The work can benefit environmental studies, waste remediation, naturally occurring radioactivity detection and characterization and general radioanalytical metrology. Expertise in

Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry Ion Source Development

Ongoing
In SIMS, a typical analysis requires <1% of the surface to be sampled, which minimizes chemical damage in the form of molecular fragmentation due to energetic ion bombardment. Cluster sources such as C 60 and Ar GCIB allow for efficient removal of the damage volume, and by operating the analysis and

Standards

Ongoing
Standards for Optical Based Standoff Detection NIST is researching methods for creating explosive threat materials standards relevant to optical detection technologies (e.g. that result in samples with particle morphologies similar to those found in explosive threat devices). This includes both