Development of a radiochemical test procedure for the separation of aerosol-borne allergens

An innovative radiochemical method has been developed to determine the filtration efficiency of HEPA filters for biological nanoparticles. The setup based on EN 1822, for flat sheet media, is up to 40 times more sensitive for a single particle than methods based on particle counting, even for low pa...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Radiation effects and defects in solids 2024-01, Vol.179 (1-2), p.76-85
Main Authors: Heiß, N., van de Laar, J. J. W., Lens, L., Scherer, U. W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aerosols
Air flow
Compressed air
Efficiency
filtration
Iodine isotopes
Iodine radioisotopes
Nanoparticles
Radioactive tracers
Radiochemical separation
Radiochemistry
separation
Serum albumin
Test procedures
Tracer techniques
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:An innovative radiochemical method has been developed to determine the filtration efficiency of HEPA filters for biological nanoparticles. The setup based on EN 1822, for flat sheet media, is up to 40 times more sensitive for a single particle than methods based on particle counting, even for low particle concentrations. To achieve such a high sensitivity the radioactive tracer technique is utilised using a solution of bovine serum albumin (BSA) labelled with radioactive iodine ( 131 I). With the aid of an aerosol generator, this solution is nebulised into nanoparticles of a defined size, which are then passed to the test filter via a compressed air flow. On the raw and clean gas side of the test filter, the 131 I is measured with two NaI(Tl) detectors. By balancing the measurement data with each other, the filter efficiency can be determined. Initially, the setup has been validated with current particle counting methods, according to EN 1822, to ensure its functionality. Subsequently, the first experiments with radiolabelled nanoparticles gave promising results, as will be shown below. Further experiments also yielded information about filter clogging and its influence on the filter efficiency.
ISSN:1042-0150
1029-4953
DOI:10.1080/10420150.2024.2318714