Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 May 2009
1. The electrostatic precipitation of single cell bacterial aerosols has been studied. Two types of electrostatic precipitators of the wire-in-tube construction have been developed. In one type the collector is a tube with nutrient agar, in the other a vertical water-film.
2. Collection efficiencies of 90 % and more could be obtained at sampling rates of 25 l./min. and tensions varying from 5 to 10 kV.
3. The survival of organisms in electrostatic precipitators has been measured in comparison with other samplers, viz. the slit sampler, membrane filters and impingers. The equivalence of the electrostatic precipitators and other samplers in sampling spore aerosols could be demonstrated. Aerosols containing vegetative organisms were sampled equally well in the agar tube precipitator as in the slit sampler. In the precipitator with water-film collector there is a loss of c. 25 % of viable cells.
4. The practical advantage of the electrostatic precipitators is their very low air resistance.
The authors feel greatly indebted to Prof. Dr J. A. Cohen and Dr F. Wensinck for their helpful criticism of the manuscript, to Mr W. de Vries who designed and constructed the generator for extremely high tension; to Mr R. van Strik, Philips-Roxane (Weesp, Netherlands), for statistical advice and computations and to Miss H. Kranenburg for technical assistance.