# Development of a Portable Ion Mobility Spectrometer For Efficient Diagnosis of Various Diseases

> **NIH NIH R35** · AUBURN UNIVERSITY AT AUBURN · 2024 · $373,958

## Abstract

Development of a Portable Ion Mobility Spectrometer for Efficient Diagnosis of various diseases
This research will focus on the identification of the biomarkers associated with various diseases and the
development and validation of an innovative high-resolution ion mobility (IM) device. The proposed device is
based on a new variant of Structures for Lossless Ion Manipulations (SLIM) and will couple high-resolution ion
mobility separations achieved by traveling wave (TW)-SLIM with drift tube (DT)-SLIM which is a novel approach
that can provide collision cross section (CCS) values of the separated isomers/conformers that are unique to the
target biomarkers of interest. We expect this capability to increase biomarkers’ identification accuracy. In
addition, by combining the attributes of the high-resolution ion mobility and ambient ionization, sensitive
detection, and superior separation power will be achieved in the analysis of complex clinical samples without
any prior sample preparation.
The current diagnosis methods are often slow, expensive, or laborious which limits their use in resource-limited
regions. Therefore, there is a strong unmet need for new technologies that can rapidly diagnose various diseases
to complement the existing commercially available technologies. Rapid identification of diagnostic biomarkers in
clinical samples will not only lead to an increase in recovery rates but also will lead to shorter hospitalization
stays and reduced antibiotic resistance. We aim to develop a portable IM diagnostic device that can be used for
the identification of the biomarkers associated with foodborne and Alzheimer’s diseases which significantly
impact the lives of millions of people. The significance of these diseases causes diagnostic tests to play a major
role in the clinical care of patients suffering from these diseases Our studies will enable high throughput analyses
that are affordable and so easy-to-operate that can be performed by less-skilled users, such as nurses and their
assistants. Over the long term, these studies will be extended to multiple applications that span from the
fundamental studies of molecular structure elucidation to advanced analytical applications such as a widely
usable point-of-care diagnostic device that can serve the community, especially resource-limited regions.
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## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10886059
- **Project number:** 5R35GM147225-03
- **Recipient organization:** AUBURN UNIVERSITY AT AUBURN
- **Principal Investigator:** Ahmed Mohamed Hamid
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $373,958
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-09-22 → 2027-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10886059

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10886059, Development of a Portable Ion Mobility Spectrometer For Efficient Diagnosis of Various Diseases (5R35GM147225-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10886059. Licensed CC0.

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