Methods and apparatus for detecting biological agents suspended in air in real time. A method includes emitting towards an air sample a beam of monochromatic polarized light whose wavelength corresponds to an absorption maximum of a biological molecule. The method further includes receiving, at different scattering angles, the scattered light beam after passing through the sample and determining that there are particles in the sample that contain the biological molecules of interest if the intensity of the scattered light has a substantially higher peak than the rest of the scattered light. The amount of the biological molecules is then estimated according to the amplitude of the peak. The size of the particles containing the biological molecules is also estimated as a function of the scattering angle where the peak was detected.

A sensor for particle identification, the sensor comprising: a first chamber configured to be filled with an electrolytic solution; a first electrode provided inside the first chamber and configured to be connected to an external power supply for applying a voltage; a second chamber configured to be filled with the electrolytic solution; a second electrode provided inside the second chamber and configured to be connected to the external power supply; a data output means configured to output measurement data expressing an ion current generated between the first electrode and the second electrode; a partition separating the first chamber and the second chamber; and a presentation means for providing a unique identifier to an external computer device over a network. The partition includes a pore connecting the first chamber and the second chamber, a physical property of the sensor is associated with the unique identifier, the sensor is configured such that when a particle passes through the pore, a transient change dependent on at least a physical property of the pore and a physical property of the particle occurs in the ion current generated between the first electrode and the second electrode, and the unique identifier is configured to cause the external computer device receiving the unique identifier to perform a process of identifying the particle according to the physical property of the sensor associated with the unique identifier. The physical property of the sensor at least includes a physical property of the pore.

A particle measuring device includes a probe including a nozzle spraying a gas on a surface of an object and an inlet inhaling the gas and particles scattered from the surface by the gas; a main pipe including an inflow hole through which the gas flows and a discharge hole through which the gas is discharged; a first manifold provided to connect the main pipe to the nozzle, and supplying the gas to the nozzle; a second manifold provided to connect the main pipe to the inlet between a connecting portion of the first manifold and the discharge hole, and supplying the particles and the gas to the main pipe; a third manifold branched from the second manifold and supplying the particles and the gas; and a particle counter connected to the third manifold, and counting the particles included in the gas supplied through the third manifold.

An industrially scalable process for producing substantially monodisperse compositions of phytoglycogen nanoparticles from phytoglycogen-containing plant materials is provided that avoids the use of chemical, enzymatic or thermo treatments that degrade the phytoglycogen material. Also provided are phytoglycogen nanoparticle compositions produced by these processes.

A filtration assembly for filtering nanoparticles includes a filter having pores that can retain nanoparticles likely to be found in an air flow passing through the filter and a filter support including two parts. A lower base-forming part of the filter support includes a peripheral bearing surface on which the filter can rest. An upper ring-shaped part of the filter support is designed to be mounted around the bearing surface of the base. By mounting the ring around the bearing surface of the base it is possible to tension the filter radially to the direction of mounting. The mounting clearance between the ring and the bearing surface of the base is dimensioned such as to maintain the filter resting on the bearing surface under mechanical stress by means of pinching, in a direction radial to the mounting direction.

Provided herein are systems, devices and methods for the rapid and accurate measurement of analytes by assay of binding events, by direct, digital measurement of individually resolved analyte/reporter binding events. The digital molecular assay systems, devices and methods disclosed herein are capable of particle-by-particle readout using optical reporter molecules that detect and report the binding of a single analyte molecule, and report each such binding in binary format. Such digital molecular assay systems, devices and methods are useful in a variety of applications, such as on mobile electronic devices for use in the field.

A method for measuring a concentration of molecules, characterized in that the method measures the concentration of molecules dissolved in a continuous phase of a colloid and includes obtaining a test sample by mixing a number of molecules with a volume of colloid, obtaining a control sample by mixing a number of molecules with a volume of a composition comprising a particle-free solution extracted from a fraction of the continuous phase of same colloid used in the obtaining the test sample, so that a value of the concentration of molecules in the mixture is equal to the value of the concentration of molecules in the test sample obtained in the obtaining the test sample, and submitting the test and the control samples obtained in the obtaining the test sample and obtaining the control sample to a process in order to concentrate the particles of the test sample.

The present invention relates to a method for impregnating a filter having pores suitable for retaining particles within them that may be present in a flow of air suitable for passing through the filter, according to which the filter made up of a polymer membrane is impregnated with one or more organometallic salts by applying a treatment using supercritical CO.sub.2, the metal M of each salt being chosen from among the group of rare earths, yttrium, scandium, chromium, or a combination thereof. The invention also relates to the obtained filter and an associated method for the collection and quantitative analysis of nanoparticles.

Various embodiments include an exemplary design of a high-temperature condensation particle counter (HT-CPC) having particle-counting statistics that are greatly improved over prior art systems since the sample flow of the disclosed HT-CPC is at least eight times greater than the prior art systems. In one embodiment, the HT-CPC includes a saturator block to accept directly a sampled particle-laden gas flow, a condenser block located downstream and in fluid communication with the saturator block, an optics block located downstream and in fluid communication with the condenser block, and a makeup-flow block having a concentric-tube design located in fluid communication with and between the condenser block and the optics block. The makeup-flow block being configured to reduce volatile contents from re-nucleating in the optics block. Other designs and apparatuses are disclosed.

A technique relates sorting biopolymers. The biopolymers are introduced into a nanopillar array, and the biopolymers include a first population and a second population. The nanopillar array includes nanopillars arranged to have a gap separating one from another. The biopolymers are sorted through the nanopillar array by transporting the first population of the biopolymers less than a predetermined bumping size according to a fluid flow direction and by transporting the second population of the biopolymers at least the predetermined bumping size according to a bumped direction different from the fluid flow direction. The nanopillar array is configured to employ the gap with a gap size less than 300 nanometers in order to sort the biopolymers.