Kapillaarelektroforeesil põhineva narkootiliste ainete tuvastusseadme DrugHunteri püsivara arendus

Abstract

Kohapeal kasutatavad narkojoobe testid ei tuvasta täpseid narkootilisi ühendeid ning nende kogust süljeproovist. Neist puudustest üle saamiseks arendati portatiivne kapillaarelektroforeesil põhinev mõõteseade DrugHunter. Teiste kapillaarelektroforeesi seadmetega võrreldes on valminud seade kompaktsem ja spetsialiseeritud narkootikumide tuvastamiseks. DrugHunter on kõrgelt automatiseeritud – pärast vajalike kemikaalide ja süljeproovi sisestamist töötab seade iseseisvalt ja kuvab mõõtetulemuse. Magistritöö raames valmis suur osa DrugHunteri püsivarast ja tarkvarast ning kontrolliti seadme elektroonika toimimist. Püsivara arendati seadme mahtuvuslikele vedelikunivoo anduritele, viaalide karussellile ja termostabiliseerimise alamsüsteemile. Loodi seadme alamsüsteemidevaheline suhtlusprotokoll ja seadme pardaarvuti tarkvarale riistvara abstraktsioonikiht. Kontrollalgoritmid loodi näiteks Peltier’ elemendi, harjavaba alalisvoolumootori ning samm-mootoriga peristaltilise pumba jaoks. In English: Currently available on-the-spot means to test drug consumption lack the capability to identify the exact narcotic substances and amounts in a sample of saliva. DrugHunter, a portable device using capillary electrophoresis, was developed to remedy these shortcomings. Contrary to other capillary electrophoresis devices, DrugHunter is more compact and is specialized for narcotic substance measurements. This device is highly automated – after inserting the necessary chemicals and a sample of saliva, it autonomously conducts measurements and displays the analysis’ result. During this master’s thesis, large parts of DrugHunter’s firmware and software were developed, including testing of the device’s electronics. Firmware was developed for capacitive liquid level sensors, vial carousel and thermal stabilization subsystem. Communication protocols and a hardware abstraction layer for the onboard computer software were developed. A non-exclusive list of devices which’s control algorithms are discussed in the thesis include a Peltier element, a brushless DC electric motor and a peristaltic pump driven by a stepper motor.