We have developed a compact instrument called the “COmpact COlor BIofinder”, or CoCoBi, for the standoff detection of biological materials and organics with polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) using a nondestructive approach in a wide area. The CoCoBi system uses a compact solid state, conductively cooled neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) nanosecond pulsed laser capable of simultaneously providing two excitation wavelengths, 355 and 532 nm, and a compact, sensitive-gated color complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor camera detector. The system is compact, portable, and determines the location of biological materials and organics with PAHs in an area 1590 cm² wide, from a target distance of 3 m through live video using fast fluorescence signals. The CoCoBi system is highly sensitive and capable of detecting a PAH concentration below 1 part per billion from a distance of 1 m. The color images provide the simultaneous detection of various objects in the target area using shades of color and morphological features. We demonstrate that this unique feature successfully detected the biological remains present in a 150-million-year-old fossil buried in a fluorescent clay matrix. The CoCoBi was also successfully field-tested in Hawaiian ocean water during daylight hours for the detection of natural biological materials present in the ocean. The wide-area and video-speed imaging capabilities of CoCoBi for biodetection may be highly useful in future NASA rover–lander life detection missions.

我们开发了一种名为“COmpact COlor BIofinder”或 CoCoBi 的紧凑型仪器，用于在大范围内使用无损方法对生物材料和含有多环芳烃 (PAH) 的有机物进行远距离检测。CoCoBi 系统采用紧凑型固态、传导冷却的掺钕钇铝石榴石 (Nd:YAG) 纳秒脉冲激光器，能够同时提供两个激发波长（355 和 532 nm），以及紧凑型、敏感门控彩色互补金属氧化物– 半导体相机探测器。该系统结构紧凑、便于携带，可通过使用快速荧光信号的实时视频从 3 m 的目标距离确定 1590 cm ²宽的区域内含有 PAH 的生物材料和有机物的位置。CoCoBi 系统高度灵敏，能够在 1 m 的距离内检测到低于十亿分之一的 PAH 浓度。彩色图像使用颜色深浅和形态特征来同时检测目标区域中的各种物体。我们证明，这一独特的功能成功地检测到埋在荧光粘土基质中的 1.5 亿年前化石中存在的生物遗骸。CoCoBi 还在白天在夏威夷海水中成功进行了现场测试，以检测海洋中存在的天然生物材料。CoCoBi 用于生物检测的广域和视频速度成像功能可能在未来 NASA 流动站-着陆器生命探测任务中非常有用。