Peabody, Mass., September 30, 2005 – The JEOL DART™, an ion source for the JEOL AccuTOF™ mass spectrometer, has been selected by R&D Magazine and an independent judging panel as one of the 100 most technologically significant products introduced into the marketplace in 2005. The DART, an acronym for Direct Analysis in Real Time, was developed by Dr. Robert (Chip) Cody of JEOL USA and Dr. James Laramee of EAI Corporation (a GEO-CENTERS, Inc. company). The two scientists discovered a means of enabling direct detection of chemicals on surfaces, in liquids, and in gases without the need for sample preparation. DART is unique in that samples are analyzed in open air, using no radioactive components, solvent sprays, exposed high voltage, or vacuum to alter the sample state.
“We’re honored to be recognized by R&D Magazine for the DART,” said Dr. Cody, who continually experiments with the source and demonstrates it with the AccuTOF in the JEOL mass spectrometry lab. DART provides immediate answers for a wide variety of applications, from environmental disasters to clinical analyses. It often eliminates sample preparation time and complements existing LC or GC analytical techniques, allowing instant detection of illicit drugs; composition of pills and capsules; detection of explosives on surfaces such as clothing and debris collected from a site or water from ponds, lakes, and reservoirs; and identification of pesticides on food and flame retardants on fabrics — just a few of the DART’s demonstrated capabilities.
Several AccuTOF-DART mass spectrometers have already been sold and are in operation at forensics laboratories, homeland security laboratories, and universities.
“DART may well be the first case where a new technology is introduced at the same time that a commercially viable product using that technology was introduced,” says
O. David Sparkman, industry consultant and adjunct professor at the University of the Pacific. The DART was introduced in February 2005, when it won the Pittcon Editors’ Gold Award at the largest trade show for analytical instruments. Sparkman presented the award.
The R&D 100 Award is a mark of excellence known throughout industry, government, and academia. Since 1963, R&D 100 Awards have recognized such winning products as Polacolor film, the flashcube, the halogen lamp, liquid crystal display, the Kodak Photo CD, the Nicoderm antismoking patch, Taxol, the anticancer drug, lab on a chip, and HDTV. Dr. Cody and Dr. Laramee plan to attend the October presentation of the award in Chicago, Illinois.
https://www.jeolusa.com/NEWS-EVENTS/Press-Releases/PostId/34/JEOL-DART-Wins-RD-100-Award