Sass 3100 high-flow aerosol sampler
Why is Sass 3100 adapted to airborne Covid-19 virus sampling?
The Sass 3100 sample volume sampled is sufficiently representative to assess air microbiological quality, in order to increase possibilities of collecting diffused presence of airborne Covid-19 & other respiratory viruses in a large air volume.
Thanks to its flow rate of 300 liters/min, Sass 3100 air sampler can operate for more than 20 hours continuously and draw 18 cubic meter / hour without filter clogging risks.
Sass 3100 is used by many institutes as it is able to capture a wide range of microorganisms as viruses, bacteria or fungal flora, pollens and airborne microalgae …
Sass 3100 electret filter highly efficient capture of airborne Covid-19 & other respiratory viruses
Thanks to permanent charged electrostatic fibers of Sass 3100 electret filter, respiratory dropplets nuclei containing airborne Covid-19 or other respiratoyr viruses of submicron sizes, are diverged from the inlet air flow passing through the electret filter
and land on the fibers at a very low speed of 3 meters/second instead of the usual 20 meters/second or more of classic filtration particle velocity.
The physical integrity of Covid-19 and other respiratory viruses is preserved, preventing virions from crashing into fibers by impaction.
The very large filter porosity allows a significant high flow and extremely long air sampling collection time, particularly important in the event of a diffuse presence of viruses in aerosols, preventing rapid filter clogging.
Sass 3100 air sampling of a wide range of microorganisms, including viruses, are well known from military experts and scientists in charge of national biosafety. Sass 3100 field-use for the collection of airborne viruses was validated in 2021 in an international published study publication, including air sampling of airborne viruses present in transit points of public transport networks in Denver, New York. , Hong Kong, Stockholm and Oslo.
Besides Sass 3100 air sampling ability to collect sub-micron particles simulating patient respiratory aerosols in a hospital hygiene environment was published in a study published by biological aerosol experts in Singapore.
Sass 3100 was ranked best biocollector of biological aerosols in 2008 by the Edgewood Chemical Biological Center of the US Marines in a comparative study of 10 different air samplers.
Designed specifically for air sampling in contaminated areas (hot zones).
Any air sampler used in a contaminated area (hot zone) must be decontaminated.
Sass 3100 has been specifically designed to be easily and completely decontaminated:
Ventilation chamber is easily removable and rotor head with its blades can be dipped and soaked in a virucidal, bactericidal or fungicidal solution.
Rest of surface can be wiped with an adequate disinfectant as hydrogen peroxide.
Contaminated air does not pass through the entire body Sass 3100, but enters and exits only through the sampling head.
Completely decontaminable. No need of a glove-box and vaporized hydrogen peroxide(VHP)
Sass 3100 it is particularly suitable for hospital hygiene air sampling, with no risk of cross-contaminations from sample to sample.
No release of microorganisms from a previous air sampling from inner surfaces of air sampler ventilation chamber, as with most high flow air samplers when fan is switched on.
Sass 3100 increases airborne Covid-19 virus and other respiratory virus detection in aerosols.
Sass 3100 may run for 20 hours on battery mode at full speed (300 l/min), and concentrate viruses sampled from a 360 cubic meters volume.
Sass 3100 samples very large volumes of air without rapid filter plugging, allowing to concentrate viral particles and to increase the sensitivity of virus analyses. (see graph below)
Sass 3100 reduces filter clugging, even in air heavely loaded with particles...
Particle collection efficiency in the aerodynamic size range of 0.3 to 5.0 µm.
After being subjected to 140 million particles /square centimeter, the efficiency of the biocollection (as well as pressure drop of the filter) increased by a modest 20%. The drop in air flow out of the filter decreases by a corresponding percentage.
The test lasted 7 hours and 30 minutes, the average particle concentration in the air was 460,000 particles /square foot. The particles were fractions or agglomerates of spheres 0.9 micron in diameter.
An analytical format increased biosafety of samples containing collected airborne Covid-19 viruses...
Securely captured viruses increase sample transport biosafety to the laboratory, and reduces transport costs.
Electret filters retain viral particles in their permanent electrostatic field fibers.
No risk of liquid leakage during transport.
To prolong the viability of Sars-Cov-2 on fibers they can be transported at -20 ° Celsius.
However, Covid-19 survival studies show that Sars-Cov-2 survive for several days on plastic surfaces.
For an RT-PCR analyis of collected airborne viruses, scientifically validated RNA extraction and concentration protocols are available for our Sass 3100 users
Field electret filter extraction of collected viruses as other microorganims.
Covid-19 viral particles and other microorganisms are released from Sass 3100 electret filters by use of an extraction liquid which flushes the filter and releases viral particles and other microorganisms from the dipole electrostatic fields of the fibers.
Detachable Sass 3100 filters fit into a filter holder used with a syringe that contains the extraction solution.
Liquid filter extraction inside the lab under a biosafety cabinet with Sass 3010
SASS® 3010 is used to extract and transfer in a small volume of liquid the aerosols captured by the electret filters of the SASS 3100 biocollector and its SASS 4100 two-stage biocollector).
Captured particles may be difficult to extract because of induced dipole fields creating a strong holding force and must be neutralized
Sass 3100 filter backwashing with Sass 3010 extractor
Scientifically validated extraction protocols for genomic analysis of respiratory viruses are available for our customers using the Sass 3100
and particularly for airborne respiratory viruses sampled in indoor air.
For more information feel free to contact us.
User-friendly Sass 3100 software allows complex sampling protocols.
- Sass 3100 software allows you to configure the delayed start of Sass 3100 air sampling, for instance to eliminate turbulences caused by technicians movements during sampler set-up.
- Sass 3100 software allows sampling volume, sampling, duration , inlet air flow speed, as air sampling and stop cycles set up.
Other features
Sass 3100 is rugged for field use, and compact.
Its electronics meet high military standards of magnetic fields protection.
Scientific bibliography
- Documentary Research of Human Respiratory Droplet Characteristics, Hualing Zhanga et al, Procedia Engineering 121 ( 2015 ) 1365 – 1374
- Aerosol and surface stability of HCoV-19 (SARS-CoV-2) compared to SARS-CoV-1 Neeltje van Doremalen et al. medRxiv 2020.03.09.20033217
- Survival Characteristics of Airborne Human Coronavirus 229E, K. IJAZ et al, J. gen. Virol. (1985), 66, 2743-2748
- Bioaerosol Sampler Choice Should Consider Efficiency and Ability of Samplers To Cover Microbial Diversity Hamza Mbareche, et al. Applied and Environmental Microbiology Nov 2018, 84 (23)
- Characterization of Airborne Bacteria at an Underground Subway Marius Dybwad et al. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 2012, 78(6):1917.