FEATURE PORTABLE SPECTROSCOPY
➤ that the instrument is able to work with but the company is researching other medicines. While both of the systems described clearly
show promise, both companies are still working on improvements on either the instrumentation or performance. Furthermore, both systems have been designed to answer specific questions, requiring the analysis of only a very limited number of substances. A more universal-type device that could be used by consumers or police officers to test a broad range of medicines or drug derivatives is something that still requires more of a research-grade spectroscopy tool. ‘For analysing medicines, you need the high performance and resolution,’ said Dr Thomas Rasmussen, vice president of business development, sales, and marketing at Ibsen Photonics. ‘You cannot compromise on the quality, because you need to get a correct response with a high level of certainty.’ But spectroscopy companies are constantly miniaturising their technology and working towards bringing such systems to market. Last year, Stellarnet launched a series of near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy, Raman, and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) systems that have been incorporated into briefcase-style cases for portability. The instruments can be sold directly to crime units, or ports of entry for checking imported substances, for example.
The StellarCase-NIR Analyser can be used for quantifying unknown substances, so determining the potency of, or active ingredients in, a particular drug. The StellarCase-Raman would be more suitable for carrying out rapid identification of a substance, so is more applicable for a crime unit or inspection facility for imported goods, Pierce said.
MINIATURISATION WITH GRATINGS
Making portable spectrometers requires smaller optical components, notably the dispersion gratings, according to Dr Thomas Rasmussen, vice president of business development, sales, and marketing at Ibsen Photonics. The more lines per millimetre that a dispersion grating has, the more compact the spectrometer can be made, because the focal lengths of the optics are very small. At the same time,
performance is also crucial, especially for a Raman instrument, Rasmussen said. The grating will determine how sharp the peaks are in the spectrum and therefore the device’s resolution. Another aspect is the throughput, which also relies on the efficiency of the grating. ‘I think a lot of customers are moving towards transmission gratings, because they can offer 80-90 per cent efficiency compared to other systems
Although these systems have taken a step
towards being portable, the price and size are still not at a point where they can be put in every police car or exist as handheld instruments. ‘The case analysers are research-grade instruments that have, for example, thermoelectric cooling, a high power laser with adjustable power output – they have the full function of our modular spectroscopy systems,’ Pierce noted. ‘So, we have not yet sacrificed performance in order to make it portable. We have taken our research-grade instruments and mounted them in portable cases.’ However, once the applications have been narrowed down – for example, by determining the most common synthetic drugs in circulation – smaller, more portable instruments could be developed. The high- performance and accuracy of Raman spectroscopy could still be achieved, but designed for more specific purposes. ‘As we... learn what the market wants, we will make less sophisticated instruments that are cheaper and do specific jobs. But we will need to follow the market and provide the system for the specific need,’ remarked Pierce.
which would have typically 50 per cent efficiency,’ Rasmussen noted.
Ibsen Photonics produces transmission gratings and OEM spectrometer modules, such as its Freedom series
With the advent
powerful enough to serve as processing units, connected via USB or Wi-Fi. ‘With the advent of smartphones, we are getting smaller and more powerful computers that are making it really easy to miniaturise scientific equipment without having to sacrifice any capability, or the ability to do advanced computational processing on board the actual device,’ said Ocean Optics’ Langston. ‘And that’s really been a big enabler for anything that is computationally intensive – for example chemo metrics for NIR and even for library matching with Raman.’
of smartphones, we are getting smaller and more powerful computers that are making it really easy to miniaturise scientific equipment
This doesn’t just help in making the instruments smaller, but in protecting sensitive data, important for pharmaceutical companies and law enforcement. ‘Increasingly, a lot of the value in some of the spectroscopic solutions is not just in the equipment,
The miniaturisation and cost reduction of lasers and detectors over the last decade have allowed spectroscopy manufacturers to produce smaller and more affordable instruments. But looking forwards, computing power and
Ocean Optics’ portable Raman spectrometer, the IDRaman mini 2
22 ELECTRO OPTICS l MARCH 2016
wireless technology are two factors set to play a huge role in enabling handheld devices with greater functionality and which could possibly move into the consumer space. As seen with Stratio’s instrument, smartphones or tablets are
but in the proprietary algorithms and software analysis,’ said Langston. ‘Some companies are very conscious of risks to security, so they actually prefer that all processing of data is done remotely, via the cloud for example. And not only is it an efficient model, but it can help them keep their models secret and keep them being stolen by hackers.’ Ocean Optics has already delivered a
spectrometer with wireless capabilities as a custom solution to an OEM client, and envisions more wireless instruments in the near future. Langston said: ‘We see this moving towards our general products. It’s being able to go from just having the ability to take a spectrum, to also being able to do the analysis in situ. It allows you to do a lot more analysis, and not just capture data, but turn that data into an answer.’ l
@electrooptics |
www.electrooptics.com
Ocean Optics
Ibsen Photonics
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