Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Sampling device”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 91 records · Page 5

KBase Narrative - Atacama Trench & Sn Clemente 2018 cruise Metagenomes -Sequence quality filtration & Assembly-

Deep-sea microbiomes sampled with traditional or pressure-retaining instrumentation A fundamental property of life in the sea is that with increasing depth must come increased adaptation to elevated hydrostatic pressures. This project aims to assess technology for the accurate characterization of microbial biodiversity and biochemistry at greater depths, and validate its use in some of the deepest and least-explored waters in the Ocean: Hadal Trench. Compared to the 0.1 megapascal (MPa) of surface waters, organisms inhabiting at the average depth of the Ocean (3800 m) have to deal with pressures of 38 MPa (5,500 psi). The effects of these high pressure have been most thoroughly investigated in microorganisms, where it has been found to affect membrane integrity and transport, cytoskeletal assembly and both DNA and protein synthesis. We will explore the diversity and activity of microorganisms from 2000 m to >8,000 m depths within the highly productive water column of hadal trenches, comparing seawater samples obtained with and without substantial pressure changes during recovery. A pressure retaining device was used to sample the microbial communities of the watercolumn with reduced decompression during retreival (Peoples et. al., 2019). References: Peoples LM, Norenberg M, Price D, McGoldrick M, Novotny M, Bochdansky A, Bartlett DH. A full-ocean-depth rated modular lander and pressure-retaining sampler capable of collecting hadal-endemic microbes under in situ conditions. Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers. 2019 Jan 1;143:50-7.

Plominsky, Alvaro M.↗

Temporal Sampling of Enzymes from Live Cells by Localized Electroporation and Quantification of Activity by SAMDI Mass Spectrometry

Abstract Measuring changes in enzymatic activity over time from small numbers of cells remains a significant technical challenge. In this work, a method for sampling the cytoplasm of cells is introduced to extract enzymes and measure their activity at multiple time points. A microfluidic device, termed the live cell analysis device (LCAD), is designed, where cells are cultured in microwell arrays fabricated on polymer membranes containing nanochannels. Localized electroporation of the cells opens transient pores in the cell membrane at the interface with the nanochannels, enabling extraction of enzymes into nanoliter‐volume chambers. In the extraction chambers, the enzymes modify immobilized substrates, and their activity is quantified by self‐assembled monolayers for matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization (SAMDI) mass spectrometry. By employing the LCAD‐SAMDI platform, protein delivery into cells is demonstrated. Next, it is shown that enzymes can be extracted, and their activity measured without a loss in viability. Lastly, cells are sampled at multiple time points to study changes in phosphatase activity in response to oxidation by hydrogen peroxide. With this unique sampling device and label‐free assay format, the LCAD with SAMDI enables a powerful new method for monitoring the dynamics of cellular activity from small populations of cells.

Mukherjee, Prithvijit↗

In Situ Chemical Monitoring and Imaging of Contents within Microfluidic Devices Having a Porous Membrane Wall Using Liquid Microjunction Surface Sampling Probe Mass Spectrometry

The ability to observe dynamic chemical processes (e.g., signaling, transport, etc.) in vivo or in situ using nondestructive chemical imaging opens a new door to understanding the complex dynamics of developing biological systems. With the advent of “biology-on-a-chip” devices has come the ability to monitor dynamic chemical processes in a controlled environment, using these engineered habitats to capture key features of natural systems while allowing visual observation of system development. Having the capability to spatially and temporally map the chemical signals within these devices may yield new insights into the forces that drive biosystem development. Here, a porous membrane sealed microfluidic device was designed to allow normal microfluidic operation while enabling continuous, location specific sampling and chemical characterization by liquid microjunction surface sampling probe mass spectrometry (LMJ-SSP MS). LMJ-SSP was used to extract fluids with nL-to-μL/min flow rates directly from selected areas of the microfluidic device without negatively impacting the device function. These extracts were subsequently characterized using MS. This technique was used to acquire MS images of the entirety of several multi-input microfluidic devices having different degrees of fluid mixing. LMJ-SSP MS imaging visualized the spatial distribution of chemical components within the microfluidic channels and could visualize chemical reactions occurring in the device. These microfluidic devices with a porous membrane wall are wholly compatible with the construction of biology-on-a-chip devices. This ultimately would enable correlation of biosystem physical structure with an evolving chemical environment

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Energy Delivery Systems with Verifiable Trustworthiness (Final Report)

Energy Delivery Systems (EDS) must be verified to be free from intrusive and malicious software. One way of verifying this software is to perform device scans to detect malicious code. Because it is possible to have “fileless” malware that exists only in device (volatile) memory, offline scanning and even many forms of online scanning is insufficient for detection. This project (“Verify”) addresses this need by performing direct sampling of memory during device operation to detect unexpected or modified software while not interfering with device operation. The Verify project provides a proof-of-concept of detection by random sampling combined with remote software- and timing-based attestation methods for robust detection of in-memory threats. An external review of Verify was performed by our partner, General Electric (GE), and a summary of their findings is provided.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

SERPENT 2 and TRIPOLI-4 neutronics benchmarking of the Jules Horowitz reactor

Jules Horowitz Reactor (JHR) is a future center for nuclear material testing in Europe, currently under construction at CEA Cadarache in southern France. It has been modelled extensively with CEA's HORUS3D/N neutron calculation package, that includes a Monte-Carlo neutron transport code TRIPOLI-4. In order to support the future computational analyses on the reactor core physics, VTT's Monte Carlo neutronics code SERPENT 2 has been used to create an alternative model of the JHR, taking advantage of the pre-existing Constructive Solid Geometry (CSG) structures on which the TRIPOLI-4 model was built. This work describes a benchmark, in which two JHR core configurations were analyzed using both of these models. The first configuration is a fresh fuel core at the beginning of life, in which aluminum based dummy-devices are installed in the reactor test positions. The second configuration represents the end-of-cycle equilibrium core with a heterogeneous burnup distribution, in which CALIPSO devices containing cladding material samples are installed at the in-core experimental positions, while the reflector positions are occupied by DEN-REP devices containing UO{sub 2} fuel. Neutron flux spectra and heat deposition are the parameters of interest in this study, due to their high importance in creating the desired experimental irradiation environment. The impact of delayed gamma energy deposition will be studied in detail, since the two models account for it with different methods. This work aims to establish a SERPENT 2 model of JHR, understanding its differences and agreements with TRIPOLI-4, and discussing its potential future applications. (authors)

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

Co-flow injection for serial crystallography at X-ray free-electron lasers

Serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) is a powerful technique that exploits X-ray free-electron lasers to determine the structure of macromolecules at room temperature. Despite the impressive exposition of structural details with this novel crystallographic approach, the methods currently available to introduce crystals into the path of the X-ray beam sometimes exhibit serious drawbacks. Samples requiring liquid injection of crystal slurries consume large quantities of crystals (at times up to a gram of protein per data set), may not be compatible with vacuum configurations on beamlines or provide a high background due to additional sheathing liquids present during the injection. Proposed and characterized here is the use of an immiscible inert oil phase to supplement the flow of sample in a hybrid microfluidic 3D-printed co-flow device. Co-flow generation is reported with sample and oil phases flowing in parallel, resulting in stable injection conditions for two different resin materials experimentally. A numerical model is presented that adequately predicts these flow-rate conditions. The co-flow generating devices reduce crystal clogging effects, have the potential to conserve protein crystal samples up to 95% and will allow degradation-free light-induced time-resolved SFX.

3D printing↗

MultiPEM Toolbox: User Manual [Rev. 2]

This document explains use of the Multi-Phenomenology Explosion Monitoring (Multi PEM) Toolbox, a collection of R scripts for estimating the unknown device parameters of a new event with uncertainty quantification. The methodology and application used for illustration in this user manual are fully documented in a Los Alamos National Laboratory technical report hereafter designated “WPA” for reference. Additional details on the application are found in a recent journal article. Two assessment types are available: rapid and complete. Rapid assessments are conducted in two stages, as described in Section 2. In the first stage, calibration data are used to estimate forward and error model parameters (WPA, §5.1) and (if relevant) errors-in-variables yield values for calibration sources (WPA, §3, Equation (3)). In the second stage, new event data are used to estimate the unknown new event device parameters (WPA, §5.2) with uncertainty quantification. Two options for treating the inferred first stage parameters in second stage Bayesian analysis are available: fixing them at their maximum likelihood estimate (default), or multiple imputation. Multiple imputation involves utilizing several posterior samples (imputations) of the first stage parameters as fixed values in the second stage posterior sampling of the new event device parameters. Second stage sampling is conducted across imputations in parallel to improve computational efficiency. This method produces improved uncertainty quantification of the new event device parameters compared with the default treatment of the first stage parameters, at the expense of additional computation. Complete assessments are conducted in a single stage, as described in Section 3. Calibration and (if relevant) new event data are used simultaneously to estimate all forward model, error model, and (if relevant) new event device parameters with uncertainty quantification on the latter. As the name suggests, rapid assessments generally run substantially faster than complete assessments (even with multiple imputation), because the results of first stage analysis can be stored and incorporated into estimating a relatively low-dimensional space of new event device parameters whenever relevant new event data becomes available. On the other hand, complete assessments must be run on the full set of model and device parameters with calibration and new event data every time the latter becomes available.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Composition and method for capture and degradation of PFAS

Materials for binding per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are disclosed. A fluidic device comprising the materials for detection and quantification of PFAS in a sample is disclosed. The fluidic device may be configured for multiplexed analyses. Also disclosed are methods for sorbing and remediating PFAS in a sample. The sample may be groundwater containing, or suspected of containing, one or more PFAS.

Motkuri, Radha K.↗

Fluidic impedance platform for in-situ detection and quantification of PFAS in groundwater

Materials for binding per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are disclosed. A fluidic device comprising the materials for detection and quantification of PFAS in a sample is disclosed. The fluidic device may be configured for multiplexed analyses. Also disclosed are methods for sorbing and remediating PFAS in a sample. The sample may be groundwater containing, or suspected of containing, one or more PFAS.

Chatterjee, Sayandev↗

A capillary-based microfluidic device enables primary high-throughput room-temperature crystallographic screening

A novel capillary-based microfluidic strategy to accelerate the process of small-molecule-compound screening by room-temperature X-ray crystallography using protein crystals is reported. The ultra-thin microfluidic devices are composed of a UV-curable polymer, patterned by cleanroom photolithography, and have nine capillary channels per chip. The chip was designed for ease of sample manipulation, sample stability and minimal X-ray background. 3D-printed frames and cassettes conforming to SBS standards are used to house the capillary chips, providing additional mechanical stability and compatibility with automated liquid- and sample-handling robotics. These devices enable an innovative in situ crystal-soaking screening workflow, akin to high-throughput compound screening, such that quantitative electron density maps sufficient to determine weak binding events are efficiently obtained. This work paves the way for adopting a room-temperature microfluidics-based sample delivery method at synchrotron sources to facilitate high-throughput protein-crystallography-based screening of compounds at high concentration with the aim of discovering novel binding events in an automated manner.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Site-specific plan-view (S)TEM sample preparation from thin films using a dual-beam FIB-SEM

To fully evaluate the atomic structure, and associated properties of materials using transmission electron microscopy, examination of samples from three non-collinear orientations is needed. This is particularly challenging for thin films and nanoscale devices built on substrates due to limitations with plan-view sample preparation. In this work, a new method for preparation of high-quality, site-specific, plan-view TEM samples from thin-films grown on substrates, is presented and discussed. Here, it is based on using a dual-beam focused ion beam scanning electron microscope (FIB-SEM) system. To demonstrate the method, the samples were prepared from thin films of perovskite oxide BaSnO 3 grown on a SrTiO 3 substrate and metal oxide IrO 2 on a TiO 2 substrate, ranging from 20–80 nm in thicknesses using molecular beam epitaxy. While the method is optimized for the thin films, it can be extended to other site-specific plan-view samples and devices build on wafers. Aberration-corrected STEM was used to evaluate the quality of the samples and their applicability for atomic-resolution imaging and analysis.

BaSnO3↗

Absence of evidence for chiral Majorana modes in quantum anomalous Hall-superconductor devices

A quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) insulator coupled to an s-wave superconductor is predicted to harbor chiral Majorana modes. A recent experiment interprets the half-quantized two-terminal conductance plateau as evidence for these modes in a millimeter-size QAH-niobium hybrid device. However, non-Majorana mechanisms can also generate similar signatures, especially in disordered samples. Here, we studied similar hybrid devices with a well-controlled and transparent interface between the superconductor and the QAH insulator. When the devices are in the QAH state with well-aligned magnetization, the two-terminal conductance is always half-quantized. Our experiment provides a comprehensive understanding of the superconducting proximity effect observed in QAH-superconductor hybrid devices and shows that the half-quantized conductance plateau is unlikely to be induced by chiral Majorana fermions in samples with a highly transparent interface.

Science & Technology - Other Topics↗

Thermal measurement apparatus and methods for anisotropic thermal materials

A system for characterizing thermal properties of thermally anisotropic heterogeneous samples includes a heating element, a first temperature sensing device, a second temperature sensing device, and a computing system. The heating element is positioned at a first location within a sample and heats the sample. The first temperature sensing device outputs data indicative of temperatures of the first location to the computing device. The second temperature sensing device outputs data indicative of temperatures of the second location to the computing device. The computing device computes a thermal conductivity of the sample based upon the temperatures of the first location. The computing device further outputs an indication of a portion of the sample to which the thermal conductivity pertains based upon the second temperatures.

Reyes, Karla Rosa↗

Thermal measurement apparatus and methods for anisotropic thermal materials

A system for characterizing thermal properties of thermally anisotropic heterogeneous samples includes a heating element, a first temperature sensing device, a second temperature sensing device, and a computing system. The heating element is positioned at a first location within a sample and heats the sample. The first temperature sensing device outputs data indicative of temperatures of the first location to the computing device. The second temperature sensing device outputs data indicative of temperatures of the second location to the computing device. The computing device computes a thermal conductivity of the sample based upon the temperatures of the first location. The computing device further outputs an indication of a portion of the sample to which the thermal conductivity pertains based upon the second temperatures.

Reyes, Karla Rosa↗

Quality Assurance methodology for the ATLAS Inner Tracker strip sensor production

The production of the strip sensors for the ATLAS Inner Tracker (ITk) will start in 2020. Nearly 22,000 large area sensors will be produced over a period of about five years by Hamamatsu Photonics K.K. (HPK). The institutes involved in the sensor development and production are committed to deliver and maintain the highest quality sensors for the experiment. A Quality Assurance (QA) strategy has been prepared to be carried out during the whole production period. Once the process has been characterized as providing the required pre-irradiation specifications and the proper radiation hardness, the onus is on the manufacturer to rigidly stick to that qualified process. Still, sample testing with specific device-element structures and irradiation of devices should be implemented by the ITk sensor collaboration. A detailed irradiation and testing plan has been prepared by the ATLAS-ITk Collaboration, together with a newly designed test chip with specific structures to monitor different key technological and device parameters during the whole production. The tests and irradiations will be carried out on a sample basis. In order to have a practical methodology, samples from alternating batches will be sent for irradiations with protons, neutrons and gammas, and then tested in order to check that the characteristics remain within specifications. Here we present the detailed plan and the design and test methods for the structures in the test chip.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Characterization of Electronic Stress-Induced Changes in Multilayer MoS 2

Transition metal dichalcogenides like molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) are compelling for next-generation electronic devices. In this work, we investigate the impact of electronic stress on MoS 2 to illustrate that observational and phenomenological information on multiple devices can be useful to describe changes in the device, and caution against the rationalization of paltry results as representative or correlative to device behavior. Here, we stress MoS 2 by applying a sustained 20 V DC bias to study the material’s response. Post-stress electronic characterization revealed nonuniform shifts in current–voltage (I–V) behavior alongside microscale changes. Complementary mechanical, spectroscopic, and scanning microwave impedance measurements showed that stress-induced features locally modulate stiffness, surface potential, Raman intensity, and charge carrier density. We correlated I–V behavior with morphological features (wrinkles, tears, folds, height) and device-level geometry (MoS 2 overlap with electrodes, channel area, contact length) on 50 test structures across five chips to move beyond anecdotal conclusions. We found no universal correlations before DC stress. However, device-level geometry was correlated with I–V behavior after DC stress, suggesting that electrode contacts play a more dominant role than morphology in determining performance. Delamination and thinning induced by DC stress led to localized reductions in charge carrier density within the affected regions. Further, delamination and thinning appear to map to I–V device performance in a few samples, but the correlation is lost when a larger sample size is considered. This suggests significant sample-to-sample variability in surface electronic states of the test structures. We also discuss how environmental factors introduced during fabrication may contribute to the observed heterogeneous device response. Progress will require high-resolution, multimodal analysis across many samples constructed under controlled, clean conditions. By building data sets that capture variability, we can better identify the true drivers of performance.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Design of a robot-automated flat plate/reflection geometry x-ray diffraction setup for accelerated materials discovery and structural screening

Here, we report the design, construction, and automation of a flat plate sample loading, alignment, and data acquisition system for X-ray diffraction measurements in reflection geometry implemented at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource. The system is built onto a single platform, enabling facile transferability, and is compartmentalized into sample storage, sample transfer, and sample position/alignment segments. The core feature of this system is a six-axis robotic arm that offers a large range of highly reproducible and programable movements. The degrees of freedom of the robot arm enable adaptability in which movements can be modified to fit various beamline environments and sample configurations. Samples are housed on 3D printed sample mounts, which are arranged onto a 6 × 2 array of sample cassettes capable of holding 7 samples. Using sample mounts designed for solid oxide electrolysis button cells (SOECs), the maximum tray capacity is 84 samples, which can be aligned and run in ~ 24 hours with long exposure scans. The sample array is additionally capable of accommodating a range of sample sizes and geometries due to the rapid 3D printed fabrication. The components of the setup will be described in detail and performance will be demonstrated with a set of representative SOEC and XRD standard samples. Opportunities for future developments and integration with the automated setup are summarized.

08 HYDROGEN↗