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 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.

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 lower-side structure forms a specimen chamber in which a specimen base is provided. An upper-side structure forms a nozzle chamber above the specimen chamber. The specimen chamber and the nozzle chamber are separated by a gate valve. In the nozzle chamber, at least a tip opening of a nozzle that ejects a specimen is present. A control device maintains a relationship of gas pressures such that a gas pressure in the specimen chamber is higher than a gas pressure in the nozzle chamber when the lower-side structure and the upper-side structure are in communication with each other.

The disclosed system and method improve analysis of chemical samples for measurement of trace volatile chemicals, such as by Gas Chromatography (GC) and Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GCMS). The system can include two traps in series, the first of which removes most of the unwanted water vapor, while the second trap preconcentrates the sample using a series of capillary columns of increasing adsorption strength. The sample can be backflushed from the second trap directly to a chemical analyzer without splitting which can maximize sensitivity. The system improves elimination of water vapor and fixed gases from the sample prior to analysis, resulting in detection limits as low as 0.001 PPBb. The second trap allows faster release of the sample upon injection to the chemical analyzer without additional focusing, and can be cleaned up faster when exposed to high concentration samples relative to packed traps.

It can sometimes be difficult to quantify the amount of polymer present in a subterranean treatment fluid, particularly at a job site. Methods for analyzing a treatment fluid for a polymer can comprise: receiving a sample of a treatment fluid comprising a nitrogen-containing polymer; placing the sample of the treatment fluid and an aqueous base in an oilfield retort; heating the sample of the treatment fluid and the aqueous base together in the oilfield retort at least until the nitrogen-containing polymer has been substantially hydrolyzed to one or more volatile nitrogen compounds; distilling the one or more volatile nitrogen compounds from the oilfield retort; and determining a quantity of the nitrogen-containing polymer in the sample of the treatment fluid based upon a quantity of the one or more volatile nitrogen compounds distilled from the oilfield retort. Analyses of other nitrogen-containing compounds may take place similarly.

Sample support design and sample cooling devices for single-particle cryo-electron microscopy that simplify sample preparation and handling, dramatically reduce errors and improve outcome reproducibility, and dramatically reduce overall costs. The system consisting of grid based sample support system, grid handling tools, grid blotting tools, a plunge cooling system, and jet cooling systems.

A thermal desorption tube collection system uses a thermoelectric cooler to collect and concentrate gas samples. In some modes, the operation of the cooler is reversed to flow the concentrated sample directly into a separator such as a gas chromatography system. Components resolved in time by a thermal desorption separator accumulate in a sample cell and are analyzed by electromagnetic radiation-based spectroscopic techniques. Also presented are methods for analyzing biogas samples.

Devices and methods for automated liquid handling and reagent processing to provide labelling and detection of bacteria and viruses are provided. Labelling reactions are performed rapidly and with essentially no generation of hazardous waste or use of consumables. Highly sensitive detection is performed by measuring fluorescence on a rotating sample plate.

Methods and devices for continuous flow monitoring of a liquid sample for presence of an airborne microbial pathogen are provided. The liquid sample can be derived from environmental air. The methods and devices provide for continuous labeling of a targeted pathogen in the liquid sample with a fluorescent probe. A customized fluorescence detector is provided that can detect labeled pathogens during continuous flow.