Method and apparatus for rapid screening of volatiles
First Claim
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1. A method for rapidly screening volatile substances in a sample, said method comprising the steps of:
- a) introducing a volume of said sample into a vapor delivery line;
b) volatilizing at least a portion of said volume as said volume is carried through said vapor delivery line;
c) contacting at least a portion of said volatilized with a sensor element, wherein the sensor element is coated with a hard-soft block elastomer; and
, wherein said volume does not contact a substantially sorbent material before contacting said sensor element; and
d) monitoring a signal from said sensor element, wherein said signal comprises a response of said sensor element to a temporally-determined variation in a concentration of said vapor proximate said sensor element, and wherein said signal is capable of providing both qualitative and quantitative information about said volatile substances in said sample.
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Abstract
In one embodiment, the present method includes the steps of introducing a volume of a sample into a vapor delivery line and volatilizing at least a portion of the volume as it is carried through the vapor delivery line. At least a portion of the volatilized volume contacts a sensor element, which produces a signal that is monitored to reveal information about the sample. All components upstream of the sensor element are substantially free of sorbent materials so that the sample volume does not contact a substantially sorbent material before contacting the sensor element.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A method for rapidly screening volatile substances in a sample, said method comprising the steps of:
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a) introducing a volume of said sample into a vapor delivery line;
b) volatilizing at least a portion of said volume as said volume is carried through said vapor delivery line;
c) contacting at least a portion of said volatilized with a sensor element, wherein the sensor element is coated with a hard-soft block elastomer; and
, wherein said volume does not contact a substantially sorbent material before contacting said sensor element; and
d) monitoring a signal from said sensor element, wherein said signal comprises a response of said sensor element to a temporally-determined variation in a concentration of said vapor proximate said sensor element, and wherein said signal is capable of providing both qualitative and quantitative information about said volatile substances in said sample. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method for rapidly screening volatile substances in a simple, said method comprising the steps of:
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a) introducing a volume of said sample into a vapor delivery line;
b) volatilizing at least a portion of said volume as said volume is carried through said vapor delivery line;
c) contacting at least a portion of said volatilized volume with a sensor element comprising a quartz crystal and a chemically sensitive film proximate the surface of said crystal, wherein the chemically sensitive film comprises a hard-soft block elastomer; and
wherein said volume does not contact a substantially sorbent material before contacting said sensor element; and
d) monitoring a measured property of said chemically sensitive film as a function of time to yield both qualitative and quantitative information about said volatile substances in said sample.
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17. A method for rapidly screening volatile substances in a sample, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) introducing a volume of said sample into a vapor delivery line;
(b) volatilizing at least a portion of said volume as said volume is carried through said vapor delivery line;
(c) contacting at least a portion of said volatilized volume with a sensor element, wherein the sensor element is coated with a hard-soft block elastomer; and
wherein said volume does not contact a substantially sorbent material before contacting said sensor element; and
(d) monitoring a signal from said sensor element as a function of time to yield both qualitative and quantitative information about said volatile substances in said sample. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification