title: Chemical Sniffing Instrumentation for Security Applications.
abstract: Border control for homeland security faces major challenges worldwide due to chemical threats from national and/or international terrorism as well as organized crime. A wide range of technologies and systems with threat detection and monitoring capabilities has emerged to identify the chemical footprint associated with these illegal activities. This review paper investigates artificial sniffing technologies used as chemical sensors for point-of-use chemical analysis, especially during border security applications. This article presents an overview of (a) the existing available technologies reported in the scientific literature for threat screening, (b) commercially available, portable (hand-held and stand-off) chemical detection systems, and (c) their underlying functional and operational principles. Emphasis is given to technologies that have been developed for in-field security operations, but laboratory developed techniques are also summarized as emerging technologies. The chemical analytes of interest in this review are (a) volatile organic compounds (VOCs) associated with security applications (e.g., illegal, hazardous, and terrorist events), (b) chemical "signatures" associated with human presence, and
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, University of Liverpool , Liverpool, L69 3GJ, U.K.
authors.forename: Stamatios
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Giannoukos
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, University of Liverpool , Liverpool, L69 3GJ, U.K.|Q-Technologies Ltd., 100 Childwall Road, Liverpool, L15 6UX, U.K.
authors.forename: Boris
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Brkić
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, University of Liverpool , Liverpool, L69 3GJ, U.K.|Q-Technologies Ltd., 100 Childwall Road, Liverpool, L15 6UX, U.K.
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, University of Liverpool , Liverpool, L69 3GJ, U.K.
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Marshall
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of North Texas , Denton, Texas 76201, United States.
authors.forename: Guido F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Verbeck
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D051337:Chemical Terrorism / Q000517:prevention & control; D002619:Chemical Warfare Agents / Q000032:analysis; D062609:Electronic Nose; D053834:Explosive Agents / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D015386:Hazardous Substances / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs / Q000032:analysis; D008297:Male; D009812:Odorants / Q000032:analysis*; D012637:Security Measures; D012737:Sex Factors; D012903:Smell; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D002619:Chemical Warfare Agents; D053834:Explosive Agents; D015386:Hazardous Substances; D013287:Illicit Drugs; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds