Back to results
US 2006/0123931 A1Published application
Method and apparatus for detection of trace volatiles
AssigneePeter Cox Limited
InventorsPeter Wareham, Krishna Persaud
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Loading patent…
Loading patent…
AssigneePeter Cox Limited
InventorsPeter Wareham, Krishna Persaud
Estimating the term…
A method and apparatus for the detection of trace volatiles such as those produced by fungal decay of timber, comprising a sampling probe (10), comprising a housing (11) and bored barrel (12) adapted removably to receive an SPME device (14) in which a coated tipped fibre (15) is guided within a needle sheath (16) into the barrel (12), and a pump (19) is energised to draw a fluid sample over the fibre tip within the bore of the barrel. A motor (23) advances and retracts the SPME device (14) and its fibre (15) for a sample to be captured thereby and the captured sample is then released within an instrument having an array of gas sensors whereby any trace volatiles captured by and released from the coated fibre (15) may then be analysed by computer software to produce a fingerprint for the location and identification of the presence of trace volatiles at a site into which the sampling probe is introduced. Thus, there is provided a robust device for the protective and easy introduction of an SPME fibre into a sampling environment where such devices conventionally could not be used.
An instrument for detecting the presence of trace volatiles, comprising a sampling probe having a receptor adapted protectively to receive a coated fibre of a solid phase micro-extraction device (SPME) for introduction to a site to be sampled, the sampling probe including means associated with the receptor to direct a fluid stream from the site over the SPME fibre located within the receptor thus to cause one or more trace volatiles to be captured by the fibre coating, and the instrument further comprising a data acquisition device having an array of gas sensors contained within a chamber adapted to receive said coated SPME fibre having one or more trace volatiles captured thereby, means for causing said one or more trace volatiles to be released from the fibre coating into the chamber such that in use the gas sensors may detect said one or more trace volatiles released from the SPME fibre, and means responsive to the sensors to produce one or more signals identifying said one or more trace volatiles captured by and released from the SPME fibre.
A method of detecting the presence of trace volatiles, comprising the steps of introducing a coated SPME fibre contained protectively within a receptor of a sampling probe, to a site to be sampled, and directing a fluid stream over the SPME fibre within the receptor thus to cause any trace volatiles present at the site to be captured by the fibre coating;
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.