Many aerosols occur at very low concentrations, or may be only a small fraction of the background aerosol distribution. Therefore, not only is it necessary to sample large volumes of air in order to collect sufficient material for accurate detection, but for most measurement techniques it is also necessary to concentrate the aerosol and restrict the fraction collected to a range of particle sizes that is of greatest importance for the target agents.

Biotechnix has developed the capability to deliver large numbers of aerosol particles into very small droplets using a µADL (micro-aerodynamic lens) array aerosol concentrator coupled to a capillary deposition and collection device. We have demonstrated the ability to deposit a concentrated stream of aerosol particles on the inner surface of a capillary and to incorporate those particles into a very small droplet which is used to elute the particles off the walls of the capillary.