Inline light detection system for nanoparticle analysis

An apparatus comprising:

• an optically transparent sphere, wherein an outer surface of the sphere comprises a diffuser coating to reflect scattered light in multiple directions;
• a bore through an axis of the sphere to allow for the flow of an analyte,
• wherein the bore is coupled to a fluid inlet, to a fluid outlet, to an inlet window adjacent to the fluid inlet, and to an outlet window adjacent to the fluid outlet,
• wherein the inlet window is optically coupled to a light source, and
• wherein the outlet window is optically coupled to a transmission detector;
• an opening in the diffuser coating and in a flow cell holder housing the sphere,
• wherein the opening allows for the scattered light to exit the sphere;
• and
• a scattering detector optically coupled to the opening in the diffuser coating to detect the scattered light, allowing for calculating absorption by the analyte.

A computer-implemented method comprising:

• providing, by a flow cell, a fluid path for fluid sample constituents;
• transmitting light from a source of light through the fluid sample constituents in the fluid path from an input port to a first output port of the flow cell;
• capturing, by the flow cell, a scattered portion of the light for output through a second output port of the flow cell;
• measuring, by a first detector, a transmitted light intensity of the source of light;
• measuring, by a second detector, a scattered intensity of the source of light;
• and
• calculating, by a computer system, a true absorption value from the measured light intensity and the measured scattered intensity.