DOE Pulse's 100th Issue

Ames Lab advances sensor technology

OLED/optical chemical sensor

Researchers led by physicist Joseph Shinar at the Ames Laboratory and chemist Raoul Kopelman at the University of Michigan have developed and demonstrated an integrated organic light-emitting device (OLED)/fluorescence-based chemical sensor. The sensor offers a compact, versatile and economical means of monitoring oxygen, volatile organic compounds, biochemical compounds and biological organisms. It is unique in the simplicity of integration of the detector and the OLED light source that excites the fluorescence, enabling "back-detection" that should allow use of the sensors in vivo. The sensor holds promise for a myriad of potential applications in such fields as combinatorial chemistry, biochemistry and in vivo biology.

[Saren Johnston, 4-3474,
sarenj@ameslab.gov]

Antimatter joins list of recyclables at Fermilab

The green box-shaped magnets of the Fermilab Recycler Ring, designed to store antiprotons at close to the speed of light, sit atop the Main Injector, which accelerates protons and antiprotons from 8 GeV to 150 GeV.

Though it produces less than a microgram of antiprotons each year, DOE's Fermilab is the largest known producer of antimatter. Scientists have now taken a major step in recycling this rare commodity by recovering antiprotons that have survived many hours of collision experiments at the Tevatron collider. Fermilab's Antiproton Recycler Ring has achieved a milestone by storing a beam of anti-protons for more than 40 hours, circulating the beam around the two-mile ring at nearly the speed. Recycled antiprotons will greatly increase the potential for particle collisions-and new discoveries-during Collider Run II of the Tevatron.

[Mike Perricone, 630/840-5678,
mikep@fnal.gov]

BASIS for security at Winter Olympics

Security at the 2002 Winter Olympics has been bolstered by state-of-the-art biodetection technology developed by the Lawrence Livermore and Los Alamos National Laboratories. The Games will be watched over by the labs' Biological Aerosol Sentry and Information System, or BASIS, which can detect the presence of airborne biological agents. In development since 1999, BASIS consists of a network of samplers tied to a mobile field laboratory. Samples are tested in the lab using the most reliable and sensitive identification techniques available, allowing detection of a bioagent release in less than 24 hours.

[Gordon Yano, 925/423-3117,
yano1@llnl.gov]

Cancer protein structure revealed

Using beams of powerful x-rays at Brookhaven Lab's National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS), scientists from BNL and the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center have produced high-resolution, molecular-level images of two cancer-related proteins binding to one another. At the NSLS, X-rays were diffracted off a crystalline sample of the protein complex from a variety of angles, creating a pattern that reveals the 3-D structure. These first-ever, detailed pictures indicate which areas of the proteins are most essential for the development of cancer. They could be used to design novel drugs that interfere with the proteins' function and prevent cancer growth.

[Karen McNulty Walsh, 631/344-8350,
kmcnulty@bnl.gov]

Case of the "missing spin"

A recent experiment at DOE's Jefferson Lab took data to learn how much the spin of the quark contributes to the proton or neutron spin. Surprising the expectation of scientists and simple models, the quark's spin seems to only contribute 25 percent or less. This "missing spin" was probed in the experiment involving more than 100 collaborators and took data around the clock for 7 months. Results of this experiment should enable nuclear scientists to take a big step in understanding the proton and neutron structure.

[Linda Ware, 757/269-7689,
ware@jlab.org]

Detector system boosts antiterror effort

From left are PPPL's Charles Gentile, Andrew Carpe, and Stephen Langish with the miniature nuclear detection system.

Anti-terrorism efforts may get a boost from DOE's Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. Researchers there are developing a miniature nuclear detection system to scan objects such as cars, luggage, and vessels for specific nuclear signatures associated with materials employed in nuclear weapons. This system could be installed at tollbooths and airports, as well as in police cruisers. The PPPL team configured off-the-shelf components—a solid-state detector, multi-channel analyzer, hand-held computer, pre-amp, and amplifier—into a unique system that can determine various radiation energies, thus identifying radionuclides. It will be tuned to flag suspect signatures only; normal nuclear signatures from medical isotopes and radiography equipment would not give false positives. This capability to differentiate radionuclides with a high degree of spatial resolution in a device that is light, small, robust, and portable makes the PPPL application unique.

[Anthony R. DeMeo, 609/243-2755,
ademeo@pppl.gov]

Efficiency of silicon solar cells improved

The amorphous silicon research team at DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory has increased the conversion efficiency for single-junction microcrystalline silicon solar cells, fabricated entirely by hot wire CVD, to 5.6 percent. Increasing the device's open circuit voltage played a major role in raising the efficiency from the previous record of 4.9 percent efficiency. Also, lowering the deposition temperature slightly increased the amorphous fraction in the film. The deposition time for the present 0.8-micron thick cell is 18 min., far less than most microcrystalline deposition processes. This efficiency, reached after only four months of research, suggests these hot-wire microcrystalline cells have considerable potential for further improvement.

[Sarah Holmes Barba, 303/275-3023,
sarah_barba@nrel.gov]

 

From genomics to proteomics

The emerging field of proteomics, which deals with proteins, may be more crucial than genomics in understanding what ails us. Determining a protein's structure is fundamental to understanding the molecular biology of cells and, in turn, human disease. Understanding protein structure could be the key to designing remarkable new drugs and disease treatments. Scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory recently developed a software program that significantly accelerates the previously lengthy process of identifying protein structure. Called RESOLVE, the program shortens part of the protein identification process to an hour by combining X-ray diffraction information with knowledge about the expected characteristics of a electron density map of a protein macromolecule.

[Todd A. Hanson, 505/665-2085,
tahanson@lanl.gov]

 

Genome sequencers target poplars

Aspen leaves

Researchers at DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory are participating in an international effort to sequence the poplar tree genome. The choice of Populus as the first tree genome to sequence is due in large part to the rapid growth rate, small genome size and widespread forest industry use of trees like cottonwood, hybrid poplar and aspen. Ultimately, the resulting knowledge will allow scientists to more effectively use the fast-growing trees to carry out important functions like carbon sequestration and enhanced production of biomass for fuels and fiber.

[Ron Walli, 865/576-0226,
wallira@ornl.gov]

 

Labs do homework on linear collider

For two decades, physicists at the DOE's Stanford Linear Accelerator Center have been developing a new breed of particle accelerator called a linear collider in cooperation with other laboratories. Now a distinguished panel of physicists has recommended that the United States play a major role in building a large linear collider as the top priority in its high-energy physics program. Stretching 18 miles, the proposed new instrument will boost electrons and their antimatter counterparts (called positrons) to energies of hundreds of billions of volts and collide them inside sophisticated particle detectors. Physicists expect experiments at this facility to provide revolutionary insights about energy, matter, space and time.

[Michael Riordan, 650/926-2620, michael@SLAC.Stanford.EDU]

 

Mercury-control system right on track

Preliminary results of a DOE National Energy Technology Laboratory-managed mercury-control technology show the system is living up to its design potential. After testing a carbon sorbent that was injected into a coal plant operated by Wisconsin Electric-Wisconsin Gas near Kenosha, Wis., for two weeks, ADA Environmental Solutions reports that mercury-removal rates range from 40 to 70 percent. The system is designed to capture 50-70 percent of mercury from coal-fired power plants using fabric filters or electrostatic precipitators to remove particulates from its gas stream. ADA's portable dry-sorbent-injection system is being demonstrated at four different coal plants in the United States.

[David J. Anna, 412/386-4646,
anna@netl.doe.gov]

 

Microchain drive fabricated at Sandia

A microchain that closely resembles a bicycle chain—except that each link could rest comfortably atop a human hair—has been fabricated at the DOE's Sandia National Laboratories. Because a single microchain could rotate many drive shafts, the device would make it unnecessary to place multiple tiny microelectromechanical (MEMS) motors in close proximity. Usually, a separate driver powers each MEMS device. Sandia technician Ed Vernon, who has received a patent for the silicon microchain, says it could be used to power microcamera shutters, in mechanical timing and decoding, and the powering of a MEMS device from a motor situated at a distance, saving considerable space on the MEMS-bearing chip.

[Howard Kercheval, 505/844-7842,
hckerch@sandia.gov]

 

PNNL rings up info security

A new surveillance system developed by researchers at DOE's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is enhancing information security at some DOE sites. Called Secure Safe, the wireless communications system triggers an alarm if a worker leaves a room without properly closing and locking a safe, file drawer or other security container. Mechanical and optical sensors track the position of a safe's door and locking mechanism. This information is relayed to an optical sensor mounted at the room's exit point, which sounds an alarm if a worker leaves without fully securing the safe. Other potential applications include bank vaults, hospital medicine cabinets and corporate filing cabinets containing intellectual property.

[Dawn White, 509-375-3688,
dawn.white@pnl.gov]

 

Potato technology may help move mail

Ozone Generator

The same technology that helps deliver wholesome Idaho potatoes to family kitchens may be an effective tool against terrorism. DOE's Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory researchers are teaming with a small Aberdeen, Idaho, business to experiment on destroying anthrax using ozone. O3Co. has developed a patented process to deliver high concentrations of ozone to freshly harvested potatoes as they travel along conveyor belts before entering storage. Ozone destroys harmful bacteria such as Erwinia, responsible for soft rot, silver scurf, and pink rot, allowing farmers to safely story their potato crops for months. INEEL researchers are testing this technology with harmless surrogates for anthrax spores. Preliminary results indicate that a 60-minute exposure to high levels of ozone kills the spores. Additional research is required to determine the optimum concentration levels and exposure times for effective destruction.

[Kathy Gatens, 208/526-1058,
kzc@inel.gov]

 

Potholes no problem with Argonne's patch

Ceramicrete, a material developed at DOE's Argonne National Laboratory to encapsulate hazardous and radioactive waste, has found a new use as a quick-setting, long-lasting pothole patch. Tested on Argonne's roads, the material has remained in place for two years without shrinking or structural cracking—no small feat in Midwestern winters. Ceramicrete is lighter and more durable than cement, and it cures in under two hours, even at temperatures below freezing. Since its early development, inventor Arun Wagh and his research team have created formulations with various properties, and so far seven companies have licensed its use.

[Catherine Foster, 630/252-5580,
cfoster@anl.gov]

 

SNS milestone reached at Berkeley Lab

Scientists and engineers with DOE's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have successfully tested a radio-frequency quadrupole (RFQ) that accelerates a beam of negative hydrogen ions in preparation for injection into the linear accelerator of the Spallation Neutron Source. The SNS is a multi-lab collaboration aimed at providing the world's most intense pulsed beams of neutrons for scientific research and industrial development. Berkeley Lab is responsible for the SNS "front-end" system and has now tested three-fourths of the system's components. The front-end system has so far met all performance requirements and is within budget and on schedule to be shipped to Oak Ridge National Laboratory, host of the SNS, in June.

[Lynn Yarris, 510/486-5375,
lcyarris@lbl.gov]