Abstract
A chamber was designed and constructed for aeromicrobiology applications. An ultraviolet (UV) radiation source was incorporated to sterilize the chamber between trials. Twelve bacterial species originally isolated from air samples and obtained from the American Type Culture Collection were tested for efficacy of UV radiation disinfection of the chamber, comprising five Gram-positive bacteria, six Gram-negative and one Gram-variable bacterial species. Experiments were designed to determine time needed to sterilize the chamber walls and air within the chamber after an aerosol containing ≤108 bacteria/1 of air was introduced or suspensions of the microorganisms were placed on surfaces within the chamber. Exposure of surfaces to UV for 120 min was determined to provide sufficient disinfection for reuse of the chamber for aerobiology studies.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
American Type Culture Collection (1992) Catalogue of Bacteria and Bacteriophages, Rockville, MD, ATCC.
Benard, J.M. (1985) Building-Associated Illnesses In An Office Environment. Proc. ASHRAE Conf. on Indoor Air Quality, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, pp. 44–52.
Buchanan, R.E. and Gibbons, N.E. (1974) Bergey’s Manual of Determinative Bacteriology, 8 edn., Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore, MD.
Crawford, G.V. and Jones, P.H. (1979) Sampling and differentiation techniques for airborne organisms emitted from wastewater. Water Res. 13,393–399.
General Electric, TP-122 (1970) Germinicidal Lamps. General Electric, Cleveland, OH, pp. 3–15.
Goldberg, L.J. (1970) The Naval Biological Laboratory Programmed Environmental Chamber. In: H. Toliver (Ed.), 3rd Int. Symp. on Aerobiology. Academic Press, London, p. 268.
Goldberg, L.J. (1971) Naval Biological Laboratory Programmed Aerosol Facility. Appl. Microbiol. 21, 244–252.
Harim, W. (1980) Biological effects of ultraviolet radiation. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 23–31.
Hart, D. (1960) Bactericidal Ultraviolet Radiation in the Operating Room. Twenty-nine year study for control of infection. J.A.M.A. 172, 1019–1027.
Hatch, M. and Dimmick, R.L. (1965) A study of aerosols of bacteria subjected to rapid changed in relative humidity. In: R.L Dimmick (Ed.), 1st Int. Symp. Aerobiology. Naval Biol. Lab., pub. 265–283.
Hendersen, D.W. (1952) An apparatus for the study of airborne infection. J. Hyg. Camb. 50, 53–68.
Hood, A.M. (1973) Airborne transmission and airborne infection. In: J.F. Phers and K.C. Winkler (Eds.), 4th Int. Symp. on Aerobiology. Oosteck press, Netherlands.
Hood, A.M. (1974) Open air factors in enclosed systems. J. Hyg. Camb. 75, 53–60.
Kingston, D. (1971) Selective media in air sampling: a review. J. Appl. Bacteriol. 34, 221–232.
Kreiss, K. (1992) The Sick Building Syndrome in the Office Building—A Breath of Fresh Air. New Engl. J. Med. 328, 877–878.
Lawrence, C.A. and Block, S.S. (1968) Disinfection, Sterilization, and Preservation. Lea and Febiger, Philadelphia, pp. 761–778.
Levin, M.A., Shahamat, M., Rahman, I., Heidelberg, J. and Osmond, K., (1994) Development of media for use in aerobiology. Am. Env., Lab. 2/94, pp. 40–42.
Menzies, M.D., Tamblyn, R., Farant, J., Hanley, J., and Nunes, F. (1993) The effect of varying levels of outdoor-air supply on the symptoms of sick building syndrome. New Engl. J. Med. 328, 821–827.
Riley, R.L. and Nardell, E.A. (1989) Clearing the air: the theory and application of ultraviolet air disinfection. Am. Rev. Respir. Dis. 139 (5), 1286–1294.
Toggle, J.E. (1983) Biological Effects of Radiation. Taylor and Francis, International Publications Service, New York, pp. 1–23.
Urbach, M.D. and Gange, M.D. (1986) The Biological Effects of UVA Radiation. Praeger, New York.
Wallingford, K.M. and Carpenter, J. (1986) Field Experience Overview: Investigating Sources of Indoor Air Quality Problems In Office Buildings. Cincinnati, Ohio, pp. 448–453.
Zinsser’s Microbiology, (1984) In: K.J. Wolfgand and H.P. Willett (Eds.) Sterilization and Disinfection. Ch. 10.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Levin, M.A., Shahamat, M., Shahamat, Y. et al. Design, construction, and evaluation of a chamber for aerobiology. Aerobiologia 13, 1–6 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02694783
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02694783