Owlstone Nanotech

White Paper

UK:
St John’s Innovation Centre
Cowley Road
Cambridge CB4 0WS
Tel: +44 1223 422415
Fax +44 1223 422414

USA:
600 Lexington Avenue
29th Floor
New York, NY 10022
Tel: +1 212 583 0098
Fax: +1 212 583 0001

Email: info@owlstonenanotech.com
Web: www.owlstonenanotech.com

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The Technology at a glance

What is it?

A new technology for quicker and more accurate chemical and explosive detection with the ability to
measure the presence and concentration of threats accurately, and continuously in real time at the point of
need.

How does it work?

By using a proprietary variant of Field Asymmetric Ion Mobility Spectrometry (FAIMS)—a sensitive and
proven method of trace detection—a chemical ‘fingerprint’ is generated for each threat and is identified and
classified using software.

What makes it different?

Micro- and nano- fabrication methods are used to integrate the spectrometer onto a silicon microchip,
leading to a number of significant advantages over previous generation instrumentation, in particular
improved sensitivity and selectivity with reduced size, cost and power consumption.

How is it better?
Increased sensitivity and selectivity over other miniature detection technologies leads to higher accuracy,
and lower false positives. It is easily customized to each application through software updates and can be
dynamically reprogrammed for new threats even after deployment.

Where can it be used?

In defense and homeland security applications wherever there is the need for a small, low power, low cost
yet highly sensitive and selective method of detection. Owlstone technology will enable new paradigms of
use, and new deployment scenarios, from intelligent battlefield sensor networks, to high through-put cargo
screening to IED deteciton in urban conflict.

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New Threats and Unmet Needs

The use of chemical and improvised explosives in warfare and terrorism has become a focus for
governments worldwide in protecting troops and citizens alike. The advent of these threats on the
battlefield and in everyday civilian life has prompted governments and the private sector to seek innovative,
comprehensive and reliable methods of chemical detection.

Conventional technologies, such as Ion Mobility Spectrometers (IMS), currently produced by manufacturers
such as Smiths Detection, Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics are inherently large in size, are
costly to produce and have performance limitations such as frequent false positives. For example, it would
be highly impractical to deploy bag screening devices found at airports within train stations where hundreds
of thousands of people pass through each day due to their size, cost and the problems of evacuation due
to false alarms. Fundamental limits to the miniaturisation of IMS instruments make them power hungry,
complex to manufacture and unsuitable for demanding portable, networked applications such as high
throughput screening of cargo containers.

Alternate miniature chemical sensors (e.g. surface acoustic wave, nanotubes etc), while being small are
typically low performance, normally providing a simple "yes/no" response. They are particularly prone to
false alarms due to unrelated chemicals often present in the air, such as perfumes, cleaning fluids and
diesel fumes. Additionally these technologies rely on customised materials for detection, which means they
cannot be reprogrammed to detect new threats and have limited operational lifetimes.

There is currently a gap in defensive detection capability. Detectors need to have lower false positive rates,
improved sensitivity, lower power consumption, faster response time, longer lifetimes. They should be low
cost, networked and reprogrammable to detect new threats.

Owlstone technology aims to address the all these requirements to offer high performance detection
solutions for the multitude of chemical and explosive threats citizens face at home and troops face abroad

The Current Gap in the Capability (Ion Mobility Spectrometry)

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Next generation detection technology

The Owlstone microchip solution is a ‘dime size’ detector, with the ability to rapidly detect a broad range of
threats at very low quantities with high confidence.

At the heart of this platform is a breakthrough silicon sensor that can be reprogrammed to detect a wide
range of airborne or dissolved chemical agents in extremely small quantities. It works by using a proprietary
form of Field Asymmetric Ion Mobility Spectrometry (FAIMS), a sensitive and proven method of trace
detection. FAIMS is a variant of Ion Mobility Spectrometry (IMS), the current method of choice for the
detection of chemical warfare agents and explosives in the field.

IMS performance worsens dramatically as it is reduced in size. By contrast, the Owlstone FAIMS solution
has improved sensitivity, improved selectivity at reduced power as it is miniaturised. It is not only a sensor,
but a highly integrated system with all the necessary electronic and mechanical components squeezed into
a dime sized package. Micro and nano-fabrication techniques enable the detector to be manufactured in a
massively parallel fashion, achieving small form factor, economy of scale and reduced unit cost.

Owlstone’s solution was designed to meet the demanding requirements of detection in an uncertain world
and promises to set a new benchmark for reliable, cost-effective chemical and explosive detection.
Increased sensitivity and selectivity over other miniature detection technologies leads to higher accuracy,
and lower false positives.

Unlike alternate miniature detectors, Owlstone's technology does not rely on exotic materials, custom
engineered for each application, which degrade over time. It is easily customized to each application
through software updates and can be dynamically reprogrammed for new threats even after deployment.
Use of chemically inert materials ensures a long storage life.

The Owlstone detection technology can be used wherever there is the need for a small, low power, low
cost yet highly sensitive and selective method of detection. From homeland security to home safety,
Owlstone is providing next generation detection solutions to leading manufacturers and integrators across
a broad range of markets and applications.

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Enabling New Applications
Owlstone envisage a range of ‘game changing’ applications and deployment scenarios, arising from
increased performance and reduced size. Possibilities may include the following.

Intelligent Battlefield
1) Sensors released from jets

3) Wireless battlefield network

2) Deploy parachute

4) Threat relayed to soldiers and command and control positions 5) Monitor plume movement

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 FAIMS Basics

Ions moving in an
electric field
What makes a chemical different?
The basic problem of detection is how to detect the
chemical of interest in a complex mixture. Owlstone
technology identifies chemicals using a property know
as ‘mobility’, a measure of how quickly an ion moves
through an electric field. The mobility relates to size and
mass, and is used to specifically distinguish and identify
the chemical of interest.

Detection with Owlstone FAIMS

The Owlstone sensor acts as a reprogrammable filter,
which separates and identifies chemicals according to
their characteristic mobility. The sensor ‘filters’ out the
background chemicals that do not have the correct
mobility ‘fingerprint’. The power and flexibility of the
system is due to the fact that the filter can be easily
Ion Filtering reprogrammed through software and electrical signals
to detect almost any chemical.

Identification with a chemical ‘fingerprint’

The Owlstone FAIMS technology rapidly creates a
fingerprint for all the chemicals present in a mixture,
even at extremely low concentrations. Software is used
to analyse the fingerprint to provide the user accurate
information on the type, and quantity of chemicals
present, to allow them to make the right decisions with
a high degree of confidence.

Chemical ‘Fingerprint’
The following are a series of chemical fingerprints from internal testing programs. The different fingerprints
are unique to the compound and are easily distinguishable and identifiable from each other. Software
algorithms are used to classify each fingerprint, resulting in identification with greatly reduced occurrences
of false positives.

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Core Technology: Owlstone’s Innovative Microchip solution

The heart of the Owlstone detection technology

is a microchip sized spectrometer. The device is
fabricated using processes similar to those in the
semiconductor industry, enabling a highly
integrated ‘dime’ sized detector. The parallel,
batch fabrication process results in economies of
~5-10mm scale, which dramatically reduces unit cost.
~5-10mm

Ions

Chemicals enter the detector and are ionised,

which means they can be moved by an electric
field. Ionisation detection methods are among
the most sensitive available, easily achieving
detection limits as low as one part per billion.
This allows the detection of chemicals at very
low thresholds, a key requirement across the
whole range of detection applications.

Ions are then drawn into the sensor for analysis.

Ions pumped through the
device by electric field
The proprietary Owlstone design incorporates a
drive electric field to ‘pump’ ions through the
device. Conventional FAIMS technologies use
mechanical pumps which are power hungry and
bulky. The Owlstone design is integrated to
greatly reduce size and complexity. The power
consumption is reduced by a factor of a
thousand, which means the detector can be
used in battery portable applications that
demand long operational life.

As ions move through the device an electric field

is applied, which filters the ion of interest from
Ions filtered from
the background mixture. Ions with the correct background
mobility ‘fingerprint’ pass through the device and
are detected. Conventional FAIMS technologies
have a single filter gap, which requires very high
voltages and reduces sensitivity. The Owlstone Ion of interest
design has a series of filter electrodes connected detected
in parallel, which results in a significant increase
in sensitivity and a further ability to detect
chemicals at very low concentrations.

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Case Studies on Chemical Warfare Agent (CWA) Simulants
A prototype FAIMS detector has been shown to exhibit excellent detection capability for a number of
Chemical Warfare Agent Simulants, which have properties similar to nerve agents such as Sarin and
Tabun.

Reponses for three common CWA Simulants - dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP), Methyl salicylate
(MS) and Diethyl ethylphosponate (DEEP) are shown below. The analyte device exposure level was
<40ppb (<0.3mgm-3) for all experiments, equivalent or near the IDLH (Immediately Dangerous to Life and
Health) level for GA (Tabun) and GB (Sarin) – 30ppb (0.1mgm-3). The signal to noise ratio in all cases
was >>20:1 suggesting detection limits for these compounds are likely to be below the 1ppb (0.003mgm-3)
level and therefore much less than IDLH levels for GA and GB, less than the IDLH level for GD (8ppb,
0.05mgm-3) and near the IDLH level for VX (2ppb, 0.01mgm-3).

Sarin Simulant - Dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP)

a&b Positive and negative mode response surfaces for dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP) at an
exposure level of 20 ! 4ppb 0.10 ! 0.2 mgm-3. c & d: Respective image maps of the response surfaces
(left being positive mode and right being negative mode). In all plots the polarity of the offset in the
compensation voltage from zero is indicated and the scaling is linear. DMMP gives only a positive mode
response at this level. The exposure level is equivalent to the IDLH level for GA (Tabun) and GB (Sarin).

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Methyl Salicylate

a&b Positive and negative mode response surfaces for methyl salicylate (MS) at an exposure level of 40 !
10ppb 0.30 ! 0.6 mgm-3. c & d: Respective image maps of the response surfaces (left being positive
mode and right being negative mode). In all plots the polarity of the offset in the compensation voltage
from zero is indicated and the scaling is linear. MS gives both a positive mode and negative mode
response at this level with the highest relative response (relative to the RIP) being in the negative mode.
The exposure level is near the IDLH level for GA (Tabun) and GB (Sarin).

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Diethyl ethylphosphonate (DEEP)

a & b: Positive and negative mode response surfaces for diethyl ethylphosphonate (DEEP) at an exposure
level of 25 ! 5ppb 0.15 ! 0.3 mgm-3. c & d: Respective image maps of the response surfaces (left being
positive mode and right being negative mode). In all plots the polarity of the offset in the compensation
voltage from zero is indicated and the scaling is linear. DEEP gives only a positive mode response at this
level with the highest relative response (relative to the RIP) being in the negative mode. The exposure
level is equivalent to the IDLH level for GA (Tabun) and GB (Sarin).

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Selectivity and CWA Chemical ‘Fingerprints’
The different compounds have a unique and distinguishable fingerprint enabling accurate classification and
identification. Further tests are currently being conducted to look at other chemical and explosive threats
relevant to military and homeland security applications.

a&b Tracks of the product ion peaks in a: the positive mode and b: the negative mode as a function of the
electric field strength. MS responds in the positive and negative mode yielding unequivocal selectivity,
whilst DMMP and DEEP differentiation can be established by the broad CV shift in the monomer peak CV
in the positive mode.

Evaluating and Testing Owlstone Technology

Owlstone is currently working with selected partners to demonstrate feasibility for a number of analytes and
applications. A handheld evaluation unit is now available for external trials. Please contact a representative
at Owlstone Nanotech to discuss your detection requirements and test platform availability.

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 About Owlstone

Owlstone is developing and commercializing innovative new technologies to address the critical need for
compact, dependable and cost-effective chemical and biological detection solutions for a wide range of
markets. We were formed through the recognition of the opportunities created by the application of micro-
and nano- technology to develop improved sensing solutions.

Owlstone is focused on the innovation of detection technologies to address unmet needs. We develop
solutions that are flexible enough to target a range of markets with the potential for growth by enabling
new application opportunities.

From homeland security to home safety, Owlstone is working with leading manufacturers and integrators
across a range of markets to develop products incorporating our microchip chemical sensing solution.

Owlstone is headquartered in the United States and has laboratory facilities in the United Kingdom. We
were founded in 2003 with a seed investment of two million dollars from Advance Nanotech, Inc., a New
York based company specializing in the investment in and commercialization of nanotechnologies.

Contact

USA:
600 Lexington Avenue
29th Floor
New York, NY 10022
Tel: +1 212 583 0098
Fax: +1 212 583 0001

UK:
St John’s Innovation Centre
Cowley Road
Cambridge CB4 0WS
Tel: +44 1223 422415
Fax +44 1223 422414

Email: info@owlstonenanotech.com
Web: www.owlstonenanotech.com

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