The inventive concept relates to a collector for collecting particles in air and a device for detecting particles in air comprising said collector. Said collector comprises a substrate, which is adapted to enable imaging of the particles, an adhesive layer arranged on a collector side of the substrate, said adhesive layer being formed by an adhesive material. The collector further comprises a protection element, which is configured to protect the adhesive layer before collection of particles. The collector is configured to allow release of protection of the adhesive layer by the protection element to expose an adhesive surface of the adhesive layer to ambient air for collecting particles on the adhesive surface. The collector is further configured for presenting a particle sample carrier having a smooth top surface and a smooth bottom surface for preventing light from being diffusely scattered by the particle sample carrier.