The present invention relates generally to a means of detecting a target molecule, compound or substance through the attractive forces occurring between said target and a target-specific molecular probe whereby said molecular probe expresses a selective high affinity for target and is capable of fluorescent luminescence at a definitive frequency and in a determinable light wave range. Specifically, said molecular probe offers target-specific binding where a resultant duplex molecule fluoresces upon hybridization to a target's unique molecule nucleotide sequence. Said hybridization allows for optical detection of said duplex via a directed, filtered and focused light source which makes said duplex both quantifiable and quantifiable via luminescence (i.e., light wave excitation) and subsequent photo detection utilizing ellipsoidal reflection to amplify detection and measurement improving both sensitivity and specificity.

The current disclosure provides a gas-liquid falling film equilibration apparatus, systems incorporating the apparatus, and methods of their use. The apparatus comprises a chamber, an equilibration member within the chamber, liquid and gas inlet and outlets, such that a liquid introduced into the chamber from the liquid inlet contacts the upper portion of the outer surface of the equilibration member. The apparatus finds use in the measurement of dissolved gases in a variety of liquids including the measurement of carbon dioxide in water.

A method for modifying a carbon thermal ionization filament is disclosed. In particular, the method requires a step of reacting a fluorine-containing compound with the carbon thermal ionization filament to provide a fluorinated carbon thermal ionization filament. Such method can result in a fluorinated carbon thermal ionization filament that can be employed in a system, such as a thermal ionization mass spectrometer, for ionizing a sample.

Methods, devices, and systems are disclosed for releasing a sample from a carrier medium. A method of releasing a sample from a carrier medium comprises treating a sample on a carrier medium with a first organic reagent, wherein when the sample contains at least one inorganic salt, the first organic reagent binds to a cation of the inorganic salt to produce both a first volatile compound and an isolated anion of the inorganic salt; treating the sample on the carrier medium with a second organic reagent, wherein the second organic reagent reacts with the isolated anion to produce a second volatile compound; and releasing the treated sample from the carrier medium, wherein when the first and the second volatile compounds are produced, the releasing step releases at least one of the first and second volatile compounds from the carrier medium.

A system is provided for detecting the mass of oil in an inorganic mineral of shale. The system operates by performing an extraction test on a first shale sample by using chloroform to obtain a total content of shale oil in the shale; enriching kerogen from the second shale sample to obtain dry kerogen; and performing an extraction test on oven-dried kerogen by using chloroform to determine the mass of extracted kerogen. The system also operates by determining the mass of the oil in the organic matter of the shale sample and the mass of the oil in an inorganic mineral of the shale; establishing a model for predicting a ratio of the mass of the oil in the inorganic mineral of the shale to the mass of the oil in the organic matter; and using the prediction model to determine the mass of oil in an inorganic mineral.

A distributable sampling and sensing instrument for chemical analysis of consumable foods and other agricultural products. The distributable sampling system is used to separate and concentrate the chemicals of interest obtained from samples at remote locations via thermal desorption onto a detachable target substrate that can be analyzed on-site or off-site. The volatile components adsorbed onto the target substrate can be analyzed with specific sensors (e.g., electrochemical sensors) or the assembly can be sent to a central lab and analyzed with conventional chemical instrumentation (e.g., GC-MS). This instrument provides the capability to enable chemical analysis of a wide range of chemical species of interest in a wide range of environments and conditions.

In order to remove dust attached to a filter member 40 to surely clean the filter member 40, an analysis apparatus 100 includes: a sample containing part 10 that contains a sample; the filter member 40 through which gas produced from the sample heated in the sample containing part 10 passes; and a gas flow path L1 adapted to lead the gas having passed through the filter member 40 to an analyzer. In addition, the filter member 40 is formed in a tubular shape, and in one end part of the filter member 40, a gas lead-out port 40a connecting to the gas flow path L1 is formed. Further, it is configured that the gas passes through a side wall part 42 of the filter member 40 from outside to inside, and flows from the gas lead-out port 40a to the gas flow path L1.

A device and method for headspace sampling is disclosed herein. The headspace sampling device comprises a sample holding device configured to be sealed in a vial. The sample holding device has a pair of electrodes gap spaced from one another and a basket extending between the electrodes configured to hold a sample. The basket is configured to heat a sample held therewith and volatize at least a portion of the sample upon an electrical current being passed through the electrodes and the basket.

Disclosed are methods for determining and classifying aircraft air contaminants comprising one or more of: turbine engine oil, hydraulic fluid and deicing fluid using contaminant analyzers comprising a contaminant collector comprising a membrane and a heater vaporizing the contaminants; a gravimetric sensor generating a response when contaminant mass is added to or removed from the sensor, the sensor receiving contaminants desorbed from the heated membrane; a frequency measurement device, measuring the response generated by the sensor as the contaminant is added to and removed from the sensor; a computer readable medium bearing a contaminant recognition program and calibration data; a processor executing the program, the program including a module classifying contaminants by type, and a module using the data for comparison with magnitude of response generated by the sensor to calculate contaminant concentration; and, a pump, generating flow of air through the collector before and after the membrane is heated.

An integrated sampling probe, valve and vaporiser (16) for a liquefied natural gas container is provided which comprises a vaporiser body (24) having a vaporisation chamber (66), a fluid inlet (40) in communication with the vaporisation chamber (66), a fluid outlet (58), and a vaporised-fluid flow path extending from the vaporisation chamber (66) to the fluid outlet (58). The fluid inlet (40) is formed as a critical orifice dimensioned to enable vaporisation of fluid passing into the vaporisation chamber (66), and there is a valve member (63) which is drivable to open and close the critical orifice, along with a heating assembly (50) for heating the valve member (63) to enable vaporisation of fluid passing through the critical orifice and into the vaporisation chamber (66). A sampling probe body (18) is also provided extending from the vaporiser body (24), the sampling probe body (18) having a sampling bore (36) which is in fluid communication with the fluid inlet (40).