AAAR 33rd Annual Conference
October 20 - October 24, 2014
Rosen Shingle Creek
Orlando, Florida, USA
Abstract View
Development of a Passive Bioaerosol Sampler Using Piezoelectric Polymer
JENNIFER THERKORN, Jerry Scheinbeim, Gediminas Mainelis, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Abstract Number: 234 Working Group: Bioaerosols
Abstract Bioaerosol sampling typically requires pumps to pull air through sample media leading to increased costs, limited sampling durations, reduced deployability and structural damage to sampled microorganisms. Since bioaerosol particles carry electrical charge due to dispersion processes and metabolic activity, this research aims to develop the first passive bioaerosol sampler using a piezoelectric polymer (uniaxially oriented polyvinylidene fluoride, or PVDF) to electrostatically attract bioaerosol particles. PVDF is a ferroelectric polymer which has been polarized by application of an external electric field. Due to polymer polarization, one side is negatively charged and the other side positively charged. Particle collection efficiency of both sides of PVDF was compared to that of controls (PTFE filters) of the same size (47 mm diameter) when sampling non-neutralized fluorescent polystyrene latex (PSL) particles representing coarse environmental particles with biological content (2.9 and 5 micrometer) and Escherichia coli bacteria nebulized with 3-jet Collison Nebulizer into a settling chamber. PSL was analyzed using fluorometer and bacteria were stained and counted by microscope. For 5 micrometer PSL, the positive side of PVDF provided 19% increased collection while the negative side appeared to repel the net negative aerosol particles with 35% decreased collection (p<0.001). 2.9 micrometer PSL carried lower net charge compared to 5 micrometer PSL and both the positive and negative sides of the PVDF provided increased relative collection efficiencies over PTFE of 44% and 51% (p<0.001), respectively. For E. coli bioaerosol with a net negative charge, the positive side of PVDF provided >20% increased collection efficiency over PTFE. This is the first stage in sampler development and indicates that PVDF can be used to manipulate charged bioparticles. Future research will include sampling different bioaerosol species, testing vertically-oriented configurations to allow for simultaneous collection of positive and negative charged particles, sampling neutralized aerosol, and sampler validation.