Six Stage Viable Anderson Cascade Impactor 220V SKU: TE-10-800X

Six Stage Viable Anderson Cascade Impactor

The TE-10-800X Six Stage Viable Anderson Cascade Impactor is designed for collection of airborne aerosols containing bacteria or fungi. This complete bioaerosol sampling system measures both the concentration and particle size distribution of culturable microorganisms in ambient air, providing critical data for environmental monitoring, industrial hygiene, and research applications.

Operating Principle

Based on the inertial impaction principle, the six stage viable impactor collects all particles, regardless of physical size, shape, or density. In each stage, air goes through specifically sized holes, past a petri dish that aerosols impact, before subsequently moving through smaller holes towards the other petri dishes. The particles are aerodynamically sized in which there is a direct relationship to the penetration of the lung. Each stage separates particles by aerodynamic diameter: Stage 1 collects particles >7 µm, Stage 2 collects particles 4.7-7 µm, with progressively smaller size fractions captured on subsequent stages.

Construction and Design

The Andersen Six Stage Viable Impactor has an aluminium inlet cone, six aluminium jet stages, glass Petri dishes, and an aluminium base plate held together by three spring clamps and sealed with o-ring gaskets. Each stage has 400 precision machined jet orifices, providing superior collection efficiency compared to competitive designs with fewer, larger jets. The Six Stage Impactor has a corrosion resistant body and operates at a flow rate of exactly 28.3 lpm (1 CFM).

Complete System Includes

• Aluminum Six Stage Impactor assembly
• Vacuum pump (28.3 lpm capacity, 220V configuration)
• Connecting tubing
• Protective carrying case
• Certificate of calibration

Applications

The study of the microbial content of the air has become increasingly more significant in the past decade as the needs for "contamination free" environments have become more apparent. Biological aerosols have been defined as biological contaminants occurring as solid or liquid particles in the air. The TE-10-800X is essential for:

• Environmental monitoring of bacteria and fungi concentrations
• Industrial hygiene assessments in cleanrooms and controlled environments
• Research on airborne pathogen transmission
• Indoor air quality evaluations
• Occupational health studies

Sampling and Analysis

Unlike real-time electronic particle counters, the Andersen sampler imparts pathogens on petri dishes, which require incubation. Thus, calculation of the contaminated air requires working backwards from the resulting pathogen growth in each dish. Standard 100 x 15 mm Petri dishes containing appropriate agar media are placed on each stage. After incubation, count the number of bacterial colonies (accepted microbiological theory assumes that each colony represents a single particle) on each sample plate. Sum the number of colonies on each plate to give a grand total for that particular sample.

220V International Configuration

This TE-10-800X model features 220V electrical configuration, making it suitable for international use and laboratory environments with 220V power systems. The vacuum pump maintains the precise 28.3 lpm flow rate required for accurate aerodynamic particle sizing across all six stages.