AAAR 37th Annual Conference October 14 - October 18, 2019 Oregon Convention Center Portland, Oregon, USA
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Design and Evaluation of a New Electrostatic-based Low-cost Biological Sampler
HEMA RAVINDRAN, Kavindra Kumaragama, Shantanu Sur, Suresh Dhaniyala, Clarkson University
Abstract Number: 597 Working Group: Bioaerosols
Abstract Bioaerosol collection methods have gained significant interest for a broad range of applications such as healthcare, national defense, bioterrorism, agriculture etc. Bioaerosol collection has largely relied on techniques such as impingement, impaction, and filtration. Here, we explore the use of electrostatic precipitation for bio-particle collection. We designed a small, low-cost, low pressure drop unit for bio-aerosol sampling based on the principle of electrostatic precipitation. The device was designed for efficient collection of biological particles and for ease of subsequent downstream analysis. We designed a low-cost particle charger to improve the collection efficiency of the sampled particles. The performance of the device was tested using Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurtsaki (Btk) as the biological test organism and dust as the non-biological test organism. We were able to achieve a collection efficiency >60% for bipolar and unipolar charged particles. The effect of electric field, exposure times, and the corona discharges from the external air ionizer, on the viability of the collected bacterial species was also determined. We will present design details of the sampler and results from our laboratory performance measurements.