TNT, a well-known explosive, is highly toxic and difficult to decompose, making the detection of trace amounts of residual TNT in the environment a topic of significant research importance.
Label-free surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has been demonstrated to be capable of capturing rich compositional information from the sample being tested. Here we show a SERS nose array that contains six individual SERS substrates composed of different components based on a signal differentiation approach (SD-SERS arrays). In this strategy, the SD-SERS arrays integrate differentiated signal structures, physically enhanced structures, and structures with varied adsorption capabilities.
Read more…
Source: Communications Chemistry
Sign up for the Counter-IED Report Newsletters
The latest news and insights delivered right to your inbox
Related:
- NIST: K9 Chemistry, A Safer Way to Train Detection Dogs
December 2, 2020
Trained dogs are incredible chemical sensors, far better at detecting explosives, narcotics and other substances than even the most advanced technological device. But one challenge is that dogs have to be trained, and training them with real hazardous substances can be inconvenient and dangerous. NIST scientists have been working to solve this problem using a jello-like ...
- Sniffing Like a Dog Can Improve Trace Detection of Explosives
December 1, 2020
By mimicking how dogs get their whiffs, government and university researchers have demonstrated that “active sniffing” can improve by more than 10 times the performance of current technologies that rely on continuous suction to detect trace amounts of explosives and other contraband. “The dog is an active aerodynamic sampling system that literally reaches out and grabs ...
- New training concept could be the future of foreign ordnance exploitation
November 24, 2020
CAMP SCHWAB, OKINAWA, Japan – A Marine shouts, “Fire in the hole!” The proclamation leads to a moment of stillness; silence fills what will soon be a blast site. A loud “whump” precedes an earth-shaking shockwave. Dirt lifts from the floor. One can feel a rattle in the center of their chest and an intense heat ...
- UK military to get biggest spending boost in 30 years
November 19, 2020
The UK military is to receive an extra £4bn a year over the next four years, the government has said. The money will fund space and cyber defence projects such as an artificial intelligence agency, and could create 40,000 new jobs. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said “letting go” of older weapons would create “headroom to invest”. The Ministry ...
- DASA UK Competition Update: Telexistence
November 16, 2020
This Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) competition, run on behalf of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), aims to develop and demonstrate the components of a telexistence solution to the defence and security community. There is the potential for this competition (Phase 1) to be followed by a second competition (Phase 2) which will ...
- One Person Injured in Fire at Eglin Explosives Research Laboratory
November 6, 2020
One person was injured in a late Thursday morning fire on the main portion of Eglin Air Force Base, according to a brief statement from the 96th Test Wing’s public affairs office. First responders from the 96th Test Wing responded to the fire at the Air Force Research Laboratory’s High Explosives Research and Development Facility at ...
- Fire damages German infectious disease institute
October 25, 2020
Bottles and incendiary devices were thrown at the facade of a building belonging to the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin. The government agency has been at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19 in Germany. A Robert Koch Institute (RKI) building in Berlin was targeted with incendiary devices in the early hours of Sunday, police in ...
- DASA UK Competition: Telexistence [Update]
October 23, 2020
This Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) competition, run on behalf of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), aims to develop and demonstrate the components of a telexistence solution to the defence and security community. There is the potential for this competition (Phase 1) to be followed by a second competition (Phase 2) which will ...
- U.S. Army researchers collaborate with university alliance to advance protection materials
October 22, 2020
BALTIMORE – The U.S. Army continues to focus on priority research areas through its alliances with universities and industry. The Materials in Extreme Dynamic Environments Collaborative Research Alliance, or MEDE CRA, conducted its 2020 fall meeting Oct. 15. This meeting facilitates collaboration across the entire alliance; however with the pandemic, researchers switched to a virtual format. ...
- Glowing engineered bacteria point out explosive landmines
October 20, 2020
New molecularly engineered E. coli bacteria emit a bioluminescence visible to the naked eye, enabling detection of landmines from afar. Researchers who discovered how to utilize fluorescent E. coli bacteria to locate landmines have recently further mutated them so that they are now both more sensitive and emit a glow visible to the naked eye, eliminating ...
- DASA UK market exploration: future policing
October 19, 2020
DASA wants to understand the current market capability and development requirements for future policing initiatives. The Home Office and National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) are undertaking a market assessment of the availability of cutting-edge solutions and innovative concepts in development that will transform UK policing and security over the next 10 to 20 year period. The Defence ...
- US Navy EOD Releases Strategic Guidance for next 10 years
October 19, 2020
CORONADO, Calif. (NNS) – Navy EOD released its force-shaping blue print for the next 10 years, Oct. 19, as its leadership looks to mold the military’s maritime EOD force into one that best supports the U.S., its allies and partner nations to compete and win in an era of Great Power Competition (GPC). The force’s first ...
- Dstl’s new counter-terrorism facility opened by The Queen
October 15, 2020
The Queen, accompanied by the Duke of Cambridge, officially opened Dstl’s new state-of-the-art Energetics Analysis Centre and met specialist scientific staff. The UK’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) has been given a rare Royal visit during the COVID-19 pandemic to showcase the science inside defence and security when Her Majesty The Queen, accompanied by The ...
- Augmented reality dog goggles could help protect Soldiers
October 6, 2020
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — Military working dogs often scout areas for explosives devices and hazardous materials and assist in rescue operations, but giving dogs the necessary commands to perform these missions can put Soldiers in harm’s way. Augmented reality may change that. Through a project funded by the Small Business Innovation Research program and managed ...
- DASA UK Competition: Open Call for Innovation
October 1, 2020
What is the Open Call? The Open Call is one of the funding competition mechanisms DASA uses to find proposals that address challenges faced by government stakeholders. It gives bidders the opportunity to present their ideas to defence and security stakeholders at any time, without waiting for a relevant Themed Competition. What are we looking for? The Open ...