Bi-Air cassette for viable and nonviable spore sampling

The Bi-Air? cassette produces two distinct sample traces on one filter during sample collection. Since the fungal spores are collected on two distinct areas of the filter media during sample collection, the filter is easily cut in half, allowing each sample trace to be analyzed by different methods. For example, total fungal spores can be counted microscopically using one sample trace, while the second sample trace is cultured for viable fungi using dilution plating techniques. Adhesive strip samplers are generally limited to the collection and analysis of total airborne fungal spores.

The two sample traces are identical in area and are easily separated. This allows a quantitative analysis to be performed on each separate sample trace. In addition, validation sampling has shown that the median concentrations of fungal spores collected in each trace during the collection of a single sample are not statistically different.

A siginificant advantage is that the culture media (any numbers of culture media) can be cultured after the sample has been collected and after spore identification.

A poster presentation on this cassette by Joe Spurgeon, Ph.D., CIH Bayshore Environmental, Inc