System and Method for Improving the Analysis of Chemical Substances Using NQR
AssigneeRapiscan Systems, Inc.
InventorsWarrick Paul Chisholm, Laurence Drew Mann, Timothy Rayner, John Alec Sidney Smith
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Abstract
The present application discloses systems and methods for analyzing a chemical substance containing quadrupolar nuclei to determine a measurable characteristic of the substance. The systems and methods include irradiating the substance with RF energy to stimulate NQR of certain quadrupolar nuclei within the substance, receiving and processing a signal emitted from the substance to isolate an NQR signal therefrom, analyzing the NQR signal to obtain a measure of the characteristic of the substance, and providing an output indicative of the measure for analytical purposes.
Claims56
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A method for analyzing a polymorphic chemical substance containing quadrupolar nuclei to determine at least one measurable characteristic of the polymorphic chemical substance, wherein said measurable characteristic is at least one of a) an amount of a certain chemical in the polymorphic chemical substance, b) a purity of the polymorphic chemical substance, c) an identification of a particular polymorphic form of the polymorphic chemical substance, d) a temperature of the polymorphic chemical substance, or e) a frequency of the polymorphic chemical substance, said method comprising:
- irradiating the polymorphic chemical substance with RF energy to stimulate nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) of certain quadrupolar nuclei within the polymorphic chemical substance;
- receiving and processing a signal emitted from said polymorphic chemical substance to isolate an NQR signal therefrom;
- analyzing said NQR signal to obtain said at least one measurable characteristic of the polymorphic chemical substance;
- providing an output indicative of said at least one measurable characteristic;
- using said obtained NQR signal to differentiate between different polymorphic forms of the polymorphic chemical substance;
- and
- using said obtained NQR signal to differentiate between different polymorphic forms of the polymorphic chemical substance.
A system for analyzing a polymorphic chemical substance to determine a polymorphic characteristic of the chemical substance, comprising:
- a chamber configured for receiving and encompassing the chemical substance therein;
- a probe containing a coil configured to irradiate said chamber with RF energy;
- a generator to generate a signal to excite said probe;
- a transmitter to transmit a signal so as to irradiate said chamber with RF energy in order to stimulate nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) of certain nuclei within the chemical substance;
- a receiver to receive signals from said chamber;
- a processor to isolate an NQR signal from the received signals and analyze said NQR signal in a manner so as to obtain a measure of the polymorphic characteristic of the chemical substance, wherein said measured polymorphic characteristic is indicative of a polymorphic form of the chemical substance and a concentration of the chemical substance.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.