A system for measuring air quality, including a housing having an inlet, and outlet, and defining an air pathway therebetween, an air pump operationally connected in fluidic communication with air inlet and outlet for urging along the air flow pathway, a particle collector having an adhesive side positioned in the air flow pathway, and an electronic controller operationally connected to the optical sensor assembly for sending control signals to the optical sensor assembly and for receiving data from the optical sensor assembly. The system also includes an optical sensor assembly positioned for optical interrogate the particle collector, and further including a light source positioned to shine on the particle collector and an optical sensor positioned to receive light travelling from the particle collector.

Implementations described and claimed herein provide systems and methods for sampling particles from air. In one implementation, an inlet opening is defined in a proximal end of a cassette top, and the inlet opening has an inlet diameter. An internal surface extends along an airflow curve from the inlet opening to an internal cavity. A sampling substrate is formed by at least one grid attached to a filter. The sampling substrate is disposed in the internal cavity at an internal distance from the inlet opening. The inlet opening and the airflow curve of the internal surface generate an airflow of the air to the sampling substrate. The sampling substrate collects a set of the particles from the air, and the inlet diameter, the airflow, and the internal distance dictate a cutoff diameter of the set of particles collected from the air by the sampling substrate.

Provided are systems and methods for accurate sensing of particle concentrations in fluids by employing a particle impactor system that allows for collection, growth and analysis of biological particles. The disclosed systems and methods make use of a pressure based flow sensor which permits the particle impactor system systems to accurately and reliably provide measurements of biological particle concentrations in the ambient environment. By incorporation of pressure sensors and pressure measurements into the flow measurement techniques, embodiments provide for the ability to use a particle impactor system to accurately measure environmental biological particle concentrations at a variety of atmospheric pressure conditions, such as at high altitude or with minimal perturbation from atmospheric weather conditions, without requiring recalibration or other adjustment of the sensors and control systems.

An embodiment of a system is described that, comprises a containment assembly comprising a receptacle configured to hold a substrate, wherein the containment assembly is configured to extend the receptacle from a housing and retract receptacle into the housing; and an aerosol collector comprising a sample chamber, wherein the aerosol collector is configured to operatively couple to the containment assembly and receive the extended receptacle with the substrate in the sample compartment.

An inlet or primary particle size fractionator for a direct-reading PM.sub.2.5 mass sensor described herein may remove atmospheric particles of a given size, such as particles greater than the inlet cut point (e.g., having a 10 μm AD cut point) and may transport particles less than the cut point to a mass sensing element or a secondary particle size fractionator (e.g., having a 2.5 μm AD cut point). The inlet may have a flow rate range of between 1 mL/min and 50 mL/min (or higher flow rates depending on the application). The inlet may include a virtual impactor (VI), real impactor, cyclone, or virtual cyclone (VC). A sensing element may measure particle mass below the primary particle size fractionator (e.g., 2.5 μm AD particles with a 10 μm AD cut point inlet) and/or between the size range of the primary and secondary particle size fractionators (e.g., between 2.5 μm and 10 μm AD, or coarse particles).

A sensor includes an inner channel with: a first portion; a second portion in communication with the first portion; a storage zone in communication with the first portion; a baffle plate extending inside the first portion; the first portion and the baffle plate being sized such that, in an air stream entering the sensor through a first, open end of the first portion and containing first particles with a diameter of 10 μm or less and second particles with a diameter of more than 10 μm, the first particles reach the second portion of the inner channel while the second particles reach the storage zone.

A method for collecting particles or gaseous chemicals is provided. The method includes providing liquid to a tube of a droplet generator, heating, with a heater of the droplet generator, the tube to provide vapor to a gas flow channel inside the tube, passing a gas flow containing the particles or gaseous chemicals through the gas flow channel inside the tube to obtain droplets including the particles or gaseous chemicals, and passing the droplets including the particles or gaseous chemicals to a wall of a collecting device such that the droplets including the particles or gaseous chemicals hit the wall. The temperature inside the gas flow channel is higher than a temperature inside the collecting device.

Electrokinetic devices and methods are described with the purpose of collecting assayable agents from a dielectric fluid medium. Electrokinetic flow may be induced by the use of plasma generation at high voltage electrodes and consequent transport of charged particles in an electric voltage gradient. Actively growing mold releases the carbohydrate cell wall component (1.fwdarw.3)-β-D-Glucan into the air. The invention recognizes that the airborne fraction is that which affects respiratory health and selectively tests for a free form which is soluble in aqueous medium. The sample to be analysed is preferably collected by the electrokinetic propulsion method described, but any air sampling method such as filtration, impactor or impingement may be applicable.

A system for real-time detection of airborne pathogens is disclosed. The system includes: an air intake unit defining an inlet and an air inflow channel; a fan configured to cause air in a sampling environment to flow into the air inflow channel via the inlet; a cooling unit for cooling air in the air inflow channel; a collection chamber for collecting liquid water condensed from air in the air inflow channel, the collection chamber including: an active target substrate having a surface that is coated with bioreceptors; and a reference target substrate that is not coated with bioreceptors, and an optical detection unit that is configured to independently illuminate the active target substrate and the reference target substrate with light for detecting presence of an airborne pathogen.

There is provided a kit of parts for assembly into an impactor (100) for aerosol component collection, such as for exhaled breath. The kit of parts is configured such that an impactor component (128) is receivable into the assembly such that, when a sealing component (136) is in a sample collection configuration and an aerosol sample is being received at an aerosol inlet (110) of a housing of the kit, in use, an aerosol flow path (124) of the aerosol sample is directed onto an impaction surface (130) of the impactor component (128) to promote aerosol deposition thereon. The kit of parts is further configured such that the sealing component (136) is changeable in the assembly into a sample containment configuration before removal of the impactor component (128) from the assembly, so as to retain any aerosol components deposited on the impaction surface (130).