A kind of online PM.sub.2.5 concentrated collection instrument and method are provided including five parts: PM.sub.2.5 cutting head, water tank system, virtual cropping system, condenser circulation system and online concentrated collection system. Connected with PM.sub.2.5 cutting head, a water tank system contains water tank, electrical heating rod and temperature-controlled digital display device. Virtual cropping system contains virtual cutter, concentrated air vacuum pump, and main air vacuum pump. The condenser circulation system circulating condensate condenses to grow the saturated particles, condenser circulation system contains condensate circulation tube, condensing machine. The online concentrated collection system contains biological sampling bottle, solenoid valve with relay, automatic distillate collector and computer subdivision constant-current pump. Real PM.sub.2.5 samples could be concentrated by this instrument to 7-10 times with high efficiency which would provide technical support for the following on-line chemical component or toxicity test.

A method for analyzing particles in an air stream includes concentrating the particles in an interior region of the air stream and deflecting the concentrated particles in the air stream with a generated thermal gradient. Smaller particles in the air stream may be selectively deflected away from the interior region and towards a periphery of the air stream at a different rate than larger particles in the air stream. The generated thermal gradient may be controlled to deflect particles in a selected particle size range onto a surface of a particle detector. An effective mass of the collected particles and an aerosol mass concentration estimate of the particles within the selected particle size range may be generated. Systems for analyzing particles are also disclosed.

Disclosed herein are embodiments of methods for detecting the presence of and amount of drugs in a sample, particularly a particle sample obtained from a subject. In particular disclosed embodiments, the particle samples are skin particle samples, saliva particle samples, and/or mucous samples isolated from a subject and analyzed using thermal desorption methods combined with a selected detection method.

A collecting apparatus for bacteria includes: a laser beam source configured to emit a laser beam; and a container configured to hold a dispersion liquid in which a plurality of bacteria are dispersed. The container has a bottom surface and an inner side surface. A thin film for converting the laser beam from the laser beam source into heat is formed on the bottom surface. At the inner side surface, immersion wetting occurs by the dispersion liquid when the inner side surface comes into contact with the dispersion liquid. The thin film is configured to produce a thermal convection in the dispersion liquid by heating the dispersion liquid. The inner side surface is configured to produce a Marangoni convection at a gas-liquid interface as an interface between the dispersion liquid and gas around the dispersion liquid.

The present invention generally provides, in various embodiments, methods of analyzing samples having a low abundance of proteins, e.g., single cells, utilizing liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectroscopy (LC-MS/MS).

An exemplary breath analysis system may include a sampling chamber having a molecule collector disposed therein. The molecule collector may be configured such that volatile organic compounds (VOCs) present in a breath sample introduced to the sampling chamber adhere to the molecule collector. A heating element may ramp heat within the sampling chamber, causing release of at least a portion of the VOCs adhered to the molecule collector, lighter and/or less bound VOCs first, heavier and/or more strongly bound VOCs later. An analysis device (e.g., a mass spectrometer or a Terahertz (THz) spectrometer) may identify one or more target VOCs from among at least the portion of the VOCs released from the molecule collector and generate an output representative of the identified target VOC(s). The output may include information that quantitates a concentration of the target VOC(s) with respect to a source of the breath sample.

An on-line measurement system for aerosol precursors emitted from industrial sources has three parts: online measurement part, pipeline cleaning part and automatic control part. The system includes: a particulate filter, high temperature intake pipe, two detergent tanks, an air pump, a cooling water pump, two detergent pumps, a condenser, an impinger, a cooling water meter, a salinity meter, a liquid flow meter, a gas flow meter, nitrogen cylinders, connecting pipes, control valves, computer control program etc. The aerosol precursor concentration Cg emitted from industrial sources is measured in the online measurement section. After every measurement, the pipeline is cleaned by the pipeline cleaning part to remove organic and inorganic residual. The automatic control part is controlled by the computer through a controlling program to control the working process of the system. The system has small area occupation, low investment cost, simple maintenance, convenient transformation and high applicability.

Systems and methods for extracting an analyte from a sample. The system includes a reaction vessel for receiving the sample and a reaction solution, a mixer for mixing the sample with the reaction solution, a filter and a drain for passing soluble components from the reaction mixture, including the dissolved analyte, from the reaction vessel. A purification vessel is located below the reaction vessel. A selective sorbent is disposed in the purification vessel for retaining contaminants from the soluble components from the reaction mixture and passing a purified analyte. An evaporation container is located below the purification vessel. A heater heats the evaporation chamber and evaporates the solvents from the purified analyte, which can then be quantitatively measured.

A kind of online PM.sub.2.5 concentrated collection instrument and method are provided including five parts: PM.sub.2.5 cutting head, water tank system, virtual cropping system, condenser circulation system and online concentrated collection system. Connected with PM.sub.2.5 cutting head, a water tank system contains water tank, electrical heating rod and temperature-controlled digital display device. Virtual cropping system contains virtual cutter, concentrated air vacuum pump, and main air vacuum pump. The condenser circulation system circulating condensate condenses to grow the saturated particles, condenser circulation system contains condensate circulation tube, condensing machine. The online concentrated collection system contains biological sampling bottle, solenoid valve with relay, automatic distillate collector and computer subdivision constant-current pump. Real PM.sub.2.5 samples could be concentrated by this instrument to 7-10 times with high efficiency which would provide technical support for the following on-line chemical component or toxicity test.

An improved liquefied natural gas vaporization system is provided for converting liquefied natural gas (LNG) to vapor so that it can be measured for integrity. The liquefied natural gas vaporization system of the present invention makes use of a sample probe that uses a cryogenic check valve to allow the vaporization process to begin early, and, due to design and incorporation with heated regulation, reduces the need for an accumulator, which is often used in other systems. By eliminating the need for an accumulator, a more real-time and authentic measurement of the LNG sample may be taken. After the probe takes the sample, the sample is sent to a sampling system and subsequently to an analytical measuring system, where the sample is measured.