Airborne particle collection device and method
AssigneePerlman Consulting, LLC
InventorDaniel Perlman
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An improved forced air sampling cassette is provided for the capture, identification, quantification, and analysis of airborne particles such as mold spores, plant pollens, dust, and other airborne pollutants. An adhesive assembly for the cassette is also provided. The cassette makes use of a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer with substantially improved properties for quantitative capture of airborne particles up to about 300 microns in size or larger.
Claims25
An airborne particle collection assembly for use in a forced air sampling cassette, the assembly comprising a transparent substrate coated in whole or in part with a layer comprising a transparent acrylic adhesive material, wherein the layer comprising an adhesive material has a thickness of at least about 125 microns and a storage modulus at 20° C. of less than 200,000 Pascals, and is optically flat and requires essentially no refocusing during scanning and particle identification at 100× to 400× magnification.
A method of making a plurality of airborne particle collection assemblies, the method comprising the steps of
- (a) providing (i) a mounting jig configured to hold a plurality of transparent substrates in a co-planar row, wherein adjacent substrates are spaced apart by spacers and (ii) a strip of transparent acrylic adhesive film sandwiched between two release liners;
- (b) placing a plurality of said substrates and spacers into the jig to form a co-planar aligned row of the substrates, wherein adjacent substrates are separated by the spacers;
- (c) removing a first release liner from the strip to expose a first surface of the film,
- (d) contacting the exposed surface of the film with an upper surface of the aligned row of substrates to form an adhesively linked row of substrates;
- (e) separating individual adhesively linked substrates from one another using a cutting instrument, thereby forming the plurality of assemblies;
- wherein the adhesive film has a thickness of at least 125 microns and a storage modulus at 20° C. of less than 200,000 Pascals, and is optically flat and requires essentially no refocusing during scanning and particle identification at 100× to 400× magnification.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.