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Article
Performance of the Button Personal Inhalable Sampler for the Measurement of Outdoor Aeroallergens
Atmospheric Environment (2003)
  • Atin Adhikari, Georgia Southern University
  • Dainius Martuzevicius, University of Cincinnati
  • Tiina Reponen, University of Cincinnati
  • Sergey A. Grinshpun, University of Cincinnati
  • Seung-Hyun Cho, University of Cincinnati
  • Satheesh K. Sivasubramani, University of Cincinnati
  • Wei Zhong, University of Cincinnati
  • Linda Levin, University of Cincinnati
  • Anna L. Kelley, Hamilton County Department of Environmental Services
  • Harry G. St. Clair, Hamilton County Department of Environmental Services
  • Grace K. Lemasters, University of Cincinnati
Abstract
No personal aerosol sampler has been evaluated for monitoring aeroallergens in outdoor field conditions and compared to conventional stationary aerobiological samplers. Recently developed Button Personal Inhalable Aerosol Sampler has demonstrated high sampling efficiency for non-biological particles and low sensitivity to the wind direction and velocity. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the Button Sampler for the measurement of outdoor pollen grains and fungal spores side-by-side with the widely used Rotorod Sampler. The sampling was performed for 8 months (spring, summer and fall) at a monitoring station on the roof of a two-storied office building located in the center of the city of Cincinnati. Two identical Button Samplers, one oriented towards the most prevalent wind and the other towards the opposite wind and a Rotorod Sampler were placed side-by-side. The total fungal spore concentration ranged from 129 to 12,980 spores m−3 (number per cubic meter of air) and the total pollen concentration from 4 to 4536 pollen m−3. The fungal spore concentrations obtained with the two Button Samplers correlated well (r=0.95; p<0.0001). The pollen data also showed positive correlation. These findings strongly support the results of earlier studies conducted with non-biological aerosol particles, which demonstrated a low wind dependence of the performance of the Button Sampler compared to other samplers. The Button Sampler's inlet efficiency was found to be more dependent on wind direction when sampling larger sized Pinaceae pollen grains (aerodynamic diameter ≈65 μm). Compared to Rotorod, both Button Samplers measured significantly higher total fungal spore concentrations. For total pollen count, the Button Sampler facing the prevalent wind showed concentrations levels comparable to that of the Rotorod, but the Button Sampler oriented opposite to the prevalent wind demonstrated lower concentration levels. Overall, it was concluded that the Button Sampler is efficient for the personal sampling of outdoor aeroallergens, and is especially beneficial for aeroallergens of small particle size.
Keywords
  • Personal sampling,
  • Pollen,
  • Fungal spore,
  • Button,
  • Sampler,
  • Aeroallergens
Publication Date
November, 2003
DOI
10.1016/j.atmosenv.2003.08.021
Citation Information
Atin Adhikari, Dainius Martuzevicius, Tiina Reponen, Sergey A. Grinshpun, et al.. "Performance of the Button Personal Inhalable Sampler for the Measurement of Outdoor Aeroallergens" Atmospheric Environment Vol. 37 Iss. 34 (2003) p. 4723 - 4733 ISSN: 1352-2310
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/atin_adhikari/128/