There has been a significant demand for the development and improvement of technology used for the detection and identification of Chemical Warfare Agents (CWAs). Some of the current detection technology being used by the U.S. government includes multipass gas cell coupled Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and Lightweight Chemical Detectors (LCD) systems. While these systems possess adequate sensitivity to detect CWAs in general, their analysis times are not considered 'rapid' nor are they able to identify the specific CWA. The U.S. Army Dugway Proving Ground's annual S/K Challenge event provides the opportunity to assess the performance and reliability of prospective detection instrumentation being developed by researchers worldwide to optimize their performance. To do so, trial testing of CWA simulants in both indoor and outdoor environments was performed, mimicking past attack scenarios. Membrane Inlet Mass Spectrometric (MIMS) technology on a portable system was successful in performing a rapid analysis along with identification of each CWA simulant utilized during the trials. The MIMS system can detect and quantify low-mass permeable compounds with parts-per-trillion limits of detection. This allows for analysis to be achieved within seconds after the initial exposure time, which is significantly faster than the FTIR and LCD systems currently used.

对用于检测和识别化学战剂 (CWA) 的技术的开发和改进有着显着的需求。美国政府目前使用的一些检测技术包括多通道气室耦合傅立叶变换红外 (FTIR) 光谱和轻型化学检测器 (LCD) 系统。虽然这些系统通常具有足够的灵敏度来检测 CWA，但它们的分析时间并不“快速”，也不能识别特定的 CWA。美国陆军达格威试验场一年一度的 S/K 挑战活动为评估全球研究人员正在开发的前瞻性检测仪器的性能和可靠性提供了机会，以优化其性能。为此，在室内和室外环境中对 CWA 模拟物进行了试验测试，模拟了过去的攻击场景。便携式系统上的膜入口质谱 (MIMS) 技术成功地进行了快速分析，同时识别了试验期间使用的每种 CWA 模拟物。MIMS 系统可以检测和量化低质量渗透性化合物，检测限为万亿分之一。这允许在初始曝光时间后几秒钟内完成分析，这比目前使用的 FTIR 和 LCD 系统快得多。MIMS 系统可以检测和量化低质量渗透性化合物，检测限为万亿分之一。这允许在初始曝光时间后几秒钟内完成分析，这比目前使用的 FTIR 和 LCD 系统快得多。MIMS 系统可以检测和量化低质量渗透性化合物，检测限为万亿分之一。这允许在初始曝光时间后几秒钟内完成分析，这比目前使用的 FTIR 和 LCD 系统快得多。