Abstract:
This mobile sample isolation and containment system is designed to provide a chemical and biological screening and verification capability within an environmentally-controlled area while minimizing exposure of analytical instruments to contamination. Only those parts of the analytical instrument absolutely necessary for retrieving sample information are disposed within the potentially contaminated enclosure, while other electrical or optical components remain outside said enclosure. The system uses multiple technologies that target, interrogate, and describe the same sample. Therefore, an analyst will not need to remove a hazardous sample from containment before it is identified.

Description:
GOVERNMENT INTEREST 
     The invention described herein may be manufactured, used and licensed by or for the U.S. Government. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The invention is in the field of chemical analysis. More specifically, the invention is in the field of mobile chemical analysis containment equipment which can be used for analysis of hazardous and/or toxic chemicals with minimal exposure to analytical instruments. 
     2. Background of the Invention 
     Fume hoods and glove boxes are typical laboratory equipment. For safety reasons, many scientists are bringing analytical instrumentation for chemical and biological analysis into their fume hoods and glove boxes at the expense of contaminating the instruments. Having the instrumentation inside the glove boxes creates problems with space, ergonomics, cross-contamination, maintenance, and decontamination (if decontamination is even possible). With mobile laboratories becoming more prominent, this approach will pose safety issues and the movement of contaminated instruments on public roads may possibly even be illegal in certain circumstances. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,730,765, herein incorporated in its entirety by reference, is directed toward a super toxic analytical glove box system. This system is also designed to keep analysis instrumentation off the work surface of the glove box; however, the system only allows for gaseous analysis and is extremely cumbersome. 
     Therefore, it is desirable to have an analysis and containment system that allows for an open work surface, has instruments that are accessible through the walls of the system, and is easily portable. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The system of the present invention leaves the already limited area of a glove box or fume hood working surface free for the items that are absolutely necessary and, thus, are more easily maintained. Only those parts of the analytical instruments necessary to retrieve the sample information are disposed within the containment area of the system. Decontamination between samples is rapid. Once unpackaged, the operator can analyze, dilute, aliquot, dispose of, or repackage the sample in the safety of a controlled environment. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an embodiment of the system of the invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a second embodiment of the system of the invention. 
         FIG. 3  is the interior portion of a FTIR detector. 
         FIG. 4  is the interior portion of a Raman detector. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       FIG. 1  shows a mobile containment system  100 . Containment system  100  consists of a sealed enclosure  105 , such as a class III biosafety cabinet. Sealed enclosure  105  may be of any material, including but not limited to metal, glass, carbon fiber, plastic, fiberglass, etc. Sealed enclosure  105  should be air tight to prevent chemicals from escaping. In certain embodiments, the interior of sealed enclosure  105  may be maintained at a pressure below ambient pressure to prevent contamination from escaping the enclosure  105 . In other embodiments, sealed enclosure  105  may be resistant to explosions. 
     Sealed enclosure  105  may have at least one transparent face  110 . While transparent face  110  is shown as the front face of sealed enclosure  105  in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , transparent face  110  can be any face of sealed enclosure  105 . Transparent face  110  may be of any transparent material, including but not limited to glass, plastic, etc. Transparent face  110  is coupled to sealed enclosure  105  by an air tight seal. 
     Sealed enclosure  105  may additionally have holes  115  through which gloves  201  (shown in  FIG. 2 ) can extend. While holes  115  are shown in transparent face  110 , holes  115  may be in any face of sealed enclosure  105 . Additionally, holes  115  may be in separate faces of sealed enclosure  105 . While two holes  115  are shown in  FIG. 1  and three holes  115  are shown in  FIG. 2 , any number of holes may be used. Gloves  201  may be detachably sealed over holes  115  so that a user can reach into sealed enclosure  105  to manipulate a sample without breaching the seal. In other embodiments, sealed enclosure  105  may have other means for manipulating a sample, including but not limited to robotic arms  190 , magnets, tongs, etc. 
     System  100  may further include a control system  120  for the sealed enclosure  105 . Control system  120  may allow a user to control the conditions inside sealed enclosure  105 , including but not limited to the power, temperature, air flow, light conditions, etc. Control system  120  may also be able to visually and/or audibly alert a user to any problems within sealed enclosure  105 . 
     Sealed enclosure  105  may be coupled to a filtration system  132 . Filtration system  132  may draw ambient air into sealed enclosure  105  through inlet  125 . Filtration system  132  may draw internal, possibly contaminated, air out of sealed enclosure  105  through outlet  130 . Filtration system  132  maybe any type of filtration system known, but preferably, filtration system  132  may include one of a carbon gas filter and a high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter. In certain embodiments a gas waste stream can be vented directly back into the system. 
     System  100  is configured so that the majority of the analytical instruments can be placed outside sealed enclosure  105  with only the portion of each analytical instrument necessary to retrieve sample information being disposed within enclosure  105  and thereby exposed to the sample. Such instruments may include, but are not limited to, optical spectroscopic instrumentation for methods such as absorption, fluorescence, phosphorescence, scattering, emission, and chemiluminescence testing of the sample. In the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) detector  135  and a Raman spectroscopy detector  140  are shown; however any instrument or combination of instruments may be used. FTIR detector  135  and Raman detector  140  are both shown coupled to the bottom face of sealed enclosure  105 ; however such instruments can be coupled to any face of sealed enclosure  105 . 
       FIG. 3  shows a close up view of the portion of FTIR detector  135  that is positioned inside sealed enclosure  105 . The internal portion of the FTIR detector  135  may be coupled to the bottom face of sealed enclosure  105  so that a surface window  315  is pressed level with the floor of sealed enclosure  105  and the sample press  310  is tucked onto the back wall of sealed enclosure  105 . Surface window  315  is comprised of a diamond Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR) material. In such a configuration, the optics and electronics of the FTIR device are outside sealed enclosure  105  while interrogating a sample inside the enclosure. 
       FIGS. 1 and 2  show the Raman spectroscopy detector  140  positioned outside enclosure  105 .  FIG. 4  shows a close up view of the portion of the Raman detection system  142  that is positioned inside sealed enclosure  105 . The internal sampling portion of the Raman detector  140  comprises a sampling component  142  that is disposed within the sealed enclosure  105 . Sampling component  142  preferably provides a light-tight enclosure  410  to surround a sample vial  415 . Enclosure  410  may be continually bathed in filtered air. Sampling component  142  may be electronically interlocked with Raman detector  140  such that it will not allow a laser to activate when the door is open, thus preventing accidental injury. A laser window  420  may be a part of the bottom face of sealed enclosure  105  and wilt not come into contact with sample vial  415 . For Raman spectroscopy the laser window  420  may simply be comprised of glass. 
     System  100  may further include a processor  180 . The processor may control the instruments, process the analysis, and export the results. The processor may be controlled by a hands-free input device  145 . Hands-free input device  145  may be a foot-operated mouse that allows the user to manipulate the sample while controlling the processor. The processor may be in communication with a display device  150 . Display device  150  may be a flat screen monitor coupled to sealed enclosure  105 . In certain embodiments, the rear face of sealed enclosure may be a second transparent face and display device  150  may be coupled to the outer surface of the second transparent face. 
     System  100  may also include an airlock  155 . Airlock  155  may be coupled to any face of sealed enclosure  105 . Airlock  155  may have an outer door  160  and an inner door  262  as shown in  FIG. 2 , each of which cannot be open while the other is open. While outer door  160  is shown on the end of airlock  155  in  FIG. 1  and on the side of airlock  155  in  FIG. 2 , outer door  160  may be on any face of airlock  155 . Airlock  155  may be removable and may be able to be stored inside sealed enclosure  105 . Such storage would facilitate in transporting system  100 . Airlock  155  provides a means for transferring items from outside enclosure  105  in inside enclosure  105  without loss of pressure differential within enclosure  105  and possible escape of contaminated air from inside enclosure  105 . 
     A closed circuit video camera  192  may be mounted on a transparent face outside sealed enclosure  105 . The closed circuit video camera  192  may also be mounted to an inner surface of sealed enclosure  105  so that the camera&#39;s field of view encompasses the work area of sealed enclosure  105 . A microphone  195  may also be coupled to the sealed enclosure  105 . The microphone  195  may be able to receive sounds from both within sealed enclosure  105  and from outside sealed enclosure  105 . The camera  192  and microphone  195  may be in communication with the processor  180 . The processor  180  may record data from the camera  192  and microphone  195  and may be able to relay the data to remote viewers, thereby allowing an analyst to direct remote viewers to aspects of the sample that may be deemed important. 
     Sealed enclosure  105  may have one or more removable panels. A removable panel may be replaced by an instrument mount  165 . Instrument mount  165  may be able to house and contain additional analysis instruments, for example, including but not limited to gas analyzers. As in the embodiment of  FIG. 2 , analysis instruments  270  may alternatively be mounted above airlock  155 . 
     Sealed enclosure  105  may further include a bar code reader  199  surface mounted in one face of sealed enclosure  105 . The bar code reader  199  may be coupled to a sample management system. Furthermore system  100  may have a voice recognition system for describing observation and producing field notes in a rapid manner. In certain embodiments, biological robot devices can manipulate well plates and deliver them to the airlock  155  for sample inoculation and sealing. 
     Other embodiments and uses of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. All references cited herein, including all publications, U.S. and foreign patents and patent applications, are specifically and entirely incorporated by reference. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered exemplary only with the true scope and spirit of the invention indicated by the following claims. As used in the specification, the term “comprising” includes the terms “consisting of” and “consisting essentially of.”