Generation of large droplet aerosols within microbiological containment using a novel flow-focussing technique

Abstract

Flow-focussing technology was harnessed to enable generation of large droplet aerosols within high-level microbiological containment. The Collison nebuliser and flow-focussing aerosol generator (FFAG) produced aerosols from distilled water with average mass median aerodynamic diameters (MMAD) of 4.19 and 11.93 lm, respectively. The medium type [water, phosphate buffered saline (PBS) or microbiological broth] had minimal effect on the droplet size generated by the FFAG. The FFAG can be modulated to generate reproducible aerosols with a wide range of MMADs (9-105 lm). The number of particulates (i.e. fluospheres) contained within the droplets increased as the MMAD increased from 12 to 50 lm. The technology described can be used for the exposure of small-animal models to large droplet aerosols ([10 lm) and has applications in healthcare, pharmaceutical, agricultural and biodefence environments.

A Simple Method for Generating Narrowly-dispersed Bioaerosols in Various Sizes

“…To minimize the damage to microbial cells, several new generators have been introduced for bioaerosol research. However new generators including a flow-focusing aerosol generator (FFAG), and C-Flow concentric nebulizer were based on pneumatic technique, accordingly, there was a limit to the minimizing stress (Thomas et al, 2009). Recently, inkjet printing has been used in the bioaerosol generation fields, controlled the bioaerosol formations using piezoelectric actuator such as driving voltage, pulse width, and waveform.…”