Chemical / Biological / Radiological / Nuclear / Explosives (CBRNE)

News and Updates

NIST Develops Yeast Material for Training First Responders on Biothreats

January 4, 2023

Researchers based the material on baker’s yeast because it is harmless and a living biological material.

The Journey to Commercialize Cutting-Edge Sensor Technology

May 17, 2022

In the early 2000’s, Abhishek Motayed found his way to the NIST campus as a contractor, working in what became the Material Measurement Laboratory (MML). Within

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

Projects and Programs

Optimization of Current and Next Generation Trace Contraband Detection Systems

Ongoing

Ion Mobility Spectrometry (IMS) is widely used for national security and law enforcement, placed at key security checkpoints such as airports and border crossings for the trace detection of drugs and explosives. Its simplicity, ease of operation, portability, and rapid analytical performance

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

Security (archive): X-ray Systems for Cargo and Vehicle Inspection Systems

Completed

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard for the image quality indicators of non-intrusive cargo and vehicle inspection systems, ANSI N42.46, was previously developed through a series of meetings hosted by NIST. NIST has conducted and analyzed the results of tests using this

Nanocalorimetry Measurements

Ongoing

Accurate thermodynamic measurements are essential to understand fundamental properties of materials, providing direct and quantifiable insight into the thermodynamics of thin film reactions and phase transitions. Going forward, new classes of materials may only be synthesized as thin films, a scale

Publications

In-line Thermal Desorption and Dielectric Barrier Discharge Ionization for Rapid Mass Spectrometry Detection of Explosives

August 5, 2024

Author(s)

Thomas P. Forbes, Liz Robinson, Edward Sisco, Abigail Koss

Thermal desorption (TD) of wipe-based samples was coupled with an in-line dielectric barrier discharge ionization (DBDI) source and rugged compact time-of

Assessing Children's Potential Exposures to Harmful Metals in Tire Crumb Rubber by Accelerated Photodegradation Weathering

August 24, 2023

Author(s)

Lee L. Yu, Li Piin Sung, YuYe Tong, Robyn Winz, Dejun Chen

Whether the use of tire crumb rubber (TCR) playground through the product's service life would expose children to potentially harmful chemicals contained within

Mercury Accumulation and Biomarkers of Exposure in Two Popular Recreational Fishes in Hawaiian Waters

July 25, 2023

Author(s)

Stephanie D. Holbert, Colleen E. Bryan Sallee, Keith Korsmeyer, Brenda A. Jensen

Mercury (Hg) exposure has not been examined in many recreational nearshore fish species that are commonly consumed around the Hawaiian Islands. Specific gene

Online dashboards for SARS-CoV-2 wastewater data need standard best practices: An environmental health communication agenda

April 17, 2023

Author(s)

Colleen Naughton, Rochelle Holm, Nancy Lin, Brooklyn James, Ted Smith

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the benefits of wastewater surveillance to supplement clinical data. Numerous online information dashboards have been

Tools and Instruments

Cabinet x-ray system

The Smiths Detection 6046si cabinet x-ray system was designed for security screening of bags, parcels and other objects of similar size. The system runs at 160

X-ray Backscatter Systems

X-ray backscatter systems are used for the screening of personnel for hidden weapons and other contraband. Unlike conventional radiographic x-ray systems