Patent ID: 9297756
Filing Date: 2016-03-29
CPC Classification: G01J,G01N,G02B

Claim Text:
1. A method for analyzing low-volume target analytes, comprising the steps of: introducing a turbulent gas, liquid, or aerosols through a medium across the propagation path of a laser excitation beam introduced into a capillary infrared absorption device in a capillary absorption spectrometer to provide a picomolar detection sensitivity therein; ablating a solid sample containing at least a picomolar quantity of the target analytes therein with a pulsed UV excitation beam to convert the sample into sample particulates; transferring the ablated sample particulates to a catalytic reactor; converting the ablated sample particulates in the catalytic reactor into a molecular gas; transferring the molecular gas from the catalytic reactor through a transfer device at a first higher pressure into the capillary infrared absorption device at a second lower pressure; and analyzing the molecular gas in the capillary absorption device with an infrared absorption detector to determine isotopic ratios of the target analytes in the sample at the picomolar detection sensitivity.