Sample Analysis Services

A photograph of a filter being weighed on a microbalance

A photograph of a box of MTL PT37P-PF03 filters

A photograph of a yellow 37-mm filter cartridge that has a QR code sticker on the bottom and is enclosed in a plastic case

A photograph of two open 37-mm filter cartridges with filters inside

Need help getting your particulate matter (PM) sample analyzed? You can purchase the following sample analysis services through Access Sensor Technologies on a per-sample basis:

Gravimetric analysis of PM mass
Optical analysis of PM black carbon
X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis of trace elements

When you purchase the gravimetric analysis service for a sample, you will receive a 37-mm-diameter Teflon™ membrane filter that has been "pre-weighed" on a microbalance, "pre-scanned" for infrared light attenuation (to support optical analysis of black carbon), assigned an serial identifier, and installed in one of our yellow filter cartridges.

After you collect a sample onto the filter and then return it to us, we will "post-weigh" the filter on the same microbalance and send you a data file indicating the mass of PM that was collected on the filter during the sample.

All three analysis services are "non destructive," so a single sample can be analyzed for PM mass, black carbon, and trace elements.

Want to learn more?

Please review the How to Handle and Install Filters and Filter Cartridges blog post to learn:

How to install a filter in a cartridge,
How to install a filter cartridge and size-selective inlet on a UPAS,
What to do after you've collected a sample, and
How to ship used filters back to us for post-sample analysis.

Need more details?

The 37-mm-diameter polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) membrane filters included with the gravimetric analysis service are part number PT37P-PF03 from Measurement Technology Laboratories.
X-ray fluorescence analysis is performed using a Thermo Scientific ARL QUANT’X EDXRF spectrometer.
X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy is used to analyze PM samples for the following elements: F, Na, Mg, Al, Si, P, S, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga, As, Se, Sr, Zr, Pb, Cd, In, Sn, Sb, Te, I.