Naneum Size Resolved Aerosol Sampler For Exposure Studies

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This project aims to develop a compact size resolved electrostatic sampler to allow rapidcollection and analysis of airborne particulate matter. In particular this sampler will allowquasi online chemical analysis to be carried out on a single size segregated substrate. Thedevice will be portable and easy to use with minimal setup required. It will be of primarybenefit and interest in the fields of environmental monitoring, occupational hygiene,toxicological studies, process control, atmospheric and aerosol research. Most existingtechnologies in this area allow only for the collection of the total suspended particulate matteracross a broad size range. Size segregation of samples is of critical importance in manyapplications. For example the impact of toxic particles on human health is determined by thesize of particles as some sizes are more dangerous than others. Therefore when one is carryingout chemical analysis of a sample one needs to know a priori what the particle size was in theair. This is in general difficult, expensive and time consuming to determine post-sampling.There are a few size resolved samplers on the market currently however the proposed devicetakes a novel approach bringing a number of significant advantages over existingtechnologies. Current size resolved devices usually rely on inertial impaction stages which areineffective for sampling nanoparticles and require high flow rates both for efficient collectionand to achieve reasonable sampling times. High flow rates require a large pump and thereforea large instrument. In addition all the particle sizes are collected on separate substrates whichrequire significant time to analyse. The proposed device will by contrast utilise electrostatictechniques for more efficient deposition of nanoparticles at low flow rates. Particles will beordered by size along a single substrate allowing the device to be small and portable as well asallowing rapid analysis of collected samples.