A practically implementable AAC can classify particles from the nanometre range to a few microns in size.
The selection of particles by aerodynamic diameter also lends itself to respiratory and inhalation applications as this metric directly affects lung deposition.
The technique is described by Olfert et al.[1] A scanning aerodynamic size spectrometer (SASS) uses a condensation particle counter (CPC) downstream of an AAC to measure high resolution aerodynamic particle size distributions (APSD).
An inversion algorithm takes into account the particle residence timings in the classifier and in the CPC to produce the final size distribution.
The technique is similar in principle to the scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS), which instead produces an electrical mobility size spectrum, although the SASS inversion does not need to take account of particle charge state.