Particle-into-liquid sampler

Orsini DA, Ma Y, Sullivan A, Sierau B, Baumann K, Weber RJ (2003) Refinements to the Particle-Into-Liquid-Sampler (PILS) for ground and airborne measurements of water soluble, aerosol composition. Atmos Environ 37 1243-1259... 

Particle into liquid sampler Exposure to supersaturated vapor impaction followed by on-line analysis (ion chromatography, total organic carbon by photoxidation followed by conductivity) +... 

Since toxins are not volatile, detection of toxins is limited to analysis of liquid or solid agents, residue, or by employing air samplers that collect and concentrate aerosol particles into a liquid sample. Portable immunoassay kits have been developed for a limited number of toxins. While the kits are capable of identifying toxins within 30 minutes, the overall sampling procedure (i.e., air-sampling in conjunction with the immunoassay analysis) can take several hours to produce a result. In addition, clinical immunoassays (ELISA), as well as laboratory analytical methods for detection and identification of toxins are available. These methods can take from 2 to 4 hours to identify individual toxins even under ideal conditions. 

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