Ultra-Sensitive Method for the Determination of the Availability of Soil Ground Contaminants to Groundwater by Leaching--Critical Angle, LLC, P.O. Box 472, Laramie, WY 82073-0472; (307) 766-5666
Dr. John Bowen, Principal Investigator
Dr. Lewis J. Noe, Business Official
DOE Grant No. DE-FG03-98ER82562
Amount: $74,997

The Department of Energy has a need to determine if various strongly sorbed soil bound contaminants such as 2, 4, 6, 8-tetrachlorodiphenyldioxin (TCDD) or PCBs are leached from the subsurface with groundwater, increasing their bio-availability and thus ecological risk. This project will develop a bio-detector based on surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy (SPRS)/surface plasmon enhanced raman spectroscopy (SPERS) instrumentation that can rapidly detect ultra-dilute contaminants in water. A self-contained miniaturized high resolution SPRS instrument capable of detecting dioxin or PCBs leached from soils by groundwater coupled with a SPERS instrument for positive identification and quantitation will be tested. This device will directly and rapidly detect leached contaminants by following the antibody-antigen interaction, specific for these compounds, in the liquid phase. Phase I will develop a stand-alone, user friendly, SPRS instrument with a flowcell for waterborne contaminants. Its biosensor component will be specific to strongly sorbed leachate contaminants such as TCDD or PCB. The instrument will be tested with a Raman spectrometer to prove that SPERS can be used for quantification.

Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: An automated device which can rapidly and directly detect the presence of ultra-dilute contaminant compounds should prove to be highly marketable in the environmental industry. Such a device could be used to detect any environmental contaminant for which an antibody can be made.