A new laser spectroscopy and its application to detection of drugs

Israel Schechter, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel. israel@technion.ac.il
Valery Bulatov, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel
Anneli Kruve, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel
Daniel Fisher, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel
Shisong Tang, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel
Nataly Vinerot, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel

Multiphoton electron extraction spectroscopy (MEES) is a new spectroscopy in which UV laser pulses are utilized for extracting electrons from solid surfaces in multiphoton processes under ambient conditions. Counting the emitted electrons as a function of laser wavelength results in detailed spectral features, which can be used for material identification. MEES has been compared to traditional optical spectroscopies, and the results indicate that its analytical information contents are higher and its sensitivity is comparable to fluorescence (however, it is not limited to fluorescing compounds). The method has been applied to detection of trace compounds on a variety of surfaces. It has been tested for trace drugs and many other materials. The analytical LODs are in the sub pmole range, which indicates that MEES is one of the most sensitive detection methods for solid surface under ambient conditions. Scanning the surface with the laser allows for its imaging, such that a compound of interest can be located. The method has also been applied to detection of nanoparticles.

Biography
Israel Schechter is a Professor of Chemistry at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. He received his Ph.D. degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and was a research associate in the Max-Plank Institute for Quantum Optics and in the Technical University of Munich. He published over 150 papers and co-authored 6 books. He supervised over 50 MSc/PhD/PD students. He has received various awards, including Fritz Haber Prize for excellence in research, Hershel Rich Innovation Award, Gutwirth Award for Excellent Research and Israel Chemical Society Prize for Technological Innovation. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Rev. Anal. Chem. and serves on the editorial board of 8 analytical journals. Currently, he serves as the President of the Israel Analytical Chemistry Society and as the Chairman of the Israel Laboratory Accreditation Authority.