With the effects of air pollution on health now featuring daily in the media, the need for more detailed analytical research instrumentation is becoming apparent as air pollution and occupational health risk move to the forefront of public thought. Ancon Technologies, a British company, has addressed this demand with a groundbreaking portable air particle sampling instrument known as the Aero Select.
A compact, light-weight device that can detect and sample particles across the entire aerosol range from 1nm to 20µm. The Aero Select provides researchers and technicians with a portable device that delivers laboratory accuracy in sampling the size, structure, morphology and chemical composition of aerosol particles and facilitates the necessity to undertake previously inaccessible in-situ research. The instrument can be used for a broad range of scientific and industrial applications, including monitoring environmental health, detecting pollutants and sampling nano and micro particles in the atmosphere.
“The Aero Select is a powerful tool for identifying the environmental impact or health risks associated with aerosol exposure,” said Benjamin West, General Manager. “Our new product compresses advanced technology into an easy-to-operate device that gives users some options for measuring and monitoring aerosol levels. The possibilities for this technology are as widespread as they are fascinating.”
Able to distinguish man-made particles against a background of naturally-occurring aerosols, the technology is accurate enough to detect target substances against background atmospheric aerosols by factors ~ 20,000. For example, engineered nano-silver has been detected at levels of 2ng/m2 against a background concentration of >40µg/m².
“Whether it’s electronic and industrial manufacturing, scientific research or environmental monitoring, the Aero Select offers a powerful atmospheric testing tool that stands to improve productivity, efficiency and most of all, safety,” West said.
The device’s size and shape make it convenient to transport, while a simplified installation process and a 24-hour programmable timer provide an auto-start option if the delayed operation is needed. With 12 cascading size channels, the Aero Select minimises sampling errors caused by turbulence and corrosion, as the design reduces time and costs associated with analytical testing.
Complimenting the convenience, portability and ease of use of the Aero Select, is the MR250 companion mass reader. Used to determine mass-size distributions quickly, the MR250 eliminates the need for laboratory gravimetrical analysis. The mass reader uses the light scattering characteristics of aerosol particles to quantify the masses of samples taken with the Aero Select in size range 0.25 to 35 microns. It is designed to provide a range of particulate matter characteristics including PM10, PM2.5 and PM1.
Ancon Technologies’ Aero Select follows up on its revolutionary Nanotechnology Molecular Tagging system, which can be programmed to detect specific molecular markers. The NMT technology and its variants can be used to detect atmospheric levels of everything from chemicals used in explosives to the biological molecules that indicate disease.
