Patent ID: 8404185

Claim:
An analyte pre-concentrator for pre-concentrating analytes in a sample, comprising: an adsorbent housing having a first end for receiving the sample containing the analytes and a second end; an adsorbent disposed in said housing for adsorbing the analytes; a first conduit in fluid communication with the second end of said housing for venting fluid that has passed through said adsorbent; and a second conduit in fluid communication with the second end of said housing for supplying fluid to said housing during desorption of the analytes from said adsorbent; wherein said second conduit includes a conduit outlet from which fluid enters said housing, said first conduit has a conduit inlet for receiving fluid from said housing, the conduit inlet of said first conduit is different from the conduit outlet of said second conduit, and the distance between the conduit outlet of said second conduit and said adsorbent is less than the distance between the conduit inlet of said first conduit and said adsorbent.