Regular leak tests are mandatory in aerosol research. A leak caused by a forgotten connection or defective o-ring may have a significant influence on the aerosol exposure process. We recommend to carry out a leak test prior to the experiment and as part of cleaning or service routine.

VITROCELL Application Note

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Smallest nebulization volumes and high deposition efficiency

The VITROCELL® Cloud Alpha MAX is designed for small nebulization volumes and very high deposition efficiency. This is important when only small quantities of material are available or when expensive test substances need to be tested.

VITROCELL® Cloud Alpha MAX – Ideal for small quantities of test substance

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https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11010065

Silvia Diabaté ¹, Lucie Armand ², Sivakumar Murugadoss ¹ , Marco Dilger ¹ , Susanne Fritsch-Decker ¹, Christoph Schlager ³, David Béal ², Marie-Edith Arnal ², Mathilde Biola-Clier ², Selina Ambrose ⁴, Sonja Mülhopt ³, Hanns-Rudolf Paur ³, Iseult Lynch ⁵ , Eugenia Valsami-Jones ⁵ , Marie Carriere ², and Carsten Weiss ¹

¹ Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute of Biological and Chemical Systems–Biological Information Processing, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany;
² CEA, CNRS, IRIG, SyMMES, University Grenoble Alpes, 38054 Grenoble, France;
³ Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute for Technical Chemistry, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany; 
⁴ Promethean Particles Ltd., Nottingham NG7 3EF, UK;
⁵ School of Geography Earth & Environmental Sciences (GEES), University of Birmingham (UoB), Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK;

KIT, together with VITROCELL SYSTEMS, set up a first Automated Exposure Station, which has been used for the assessment of nanoscale particle emissions from combustion sources such as ship diesel and wood burners. The system was further developed and offers a compact solution for toxicity testing of nanoparticle (NP) aerosols including sample conditioning, reproducible deposition, integrated dose determination by a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM), flow control, automated processes and data acquisition. The device was also tested with partner laboratories with the aim of potentially standardizing and achieving regulatory acceptance of the method.

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doi:10.3390/nano10122369

Lars B. Leibrock ¹, Harald Jungnickel ¹, Jutta Tentschert ¹, Aaron Katz ¹, Blaza Toman ² , Elijah J. Petersen ³ , Frank S. Bierkandt ¹, Ajay Vikram Singh ¹ , Peter Laux ¹ and Andreas Luch ^1
1 German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Department of Chemical and Product Safety, Max-Dohrn-Strasse 8-10, 10589 Berlin, Germany; 
² Information Technology Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaitherburg, MD 20899-8311, USA; 
³ Materials Measurement Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaitherburg, MD 20899-8311, USA; 

ALI systems are considered to be a promising exposure system to study toxicological e ects of airborne nanomaterials instead of in vivo inhalation studies and have been widely used to assess the toxicology of nanomaterials in recent years. However, the robustness of these methods is not yet wellunderstood. Here we reported a C&E analysis of a commonly used flow through ALI exposure system.

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The VITROCELL® Cloud Alpha series is our newest innovation and presents a great leap forward in automated exposure of cell cultures. It combines reliable exposure of cell cultures from the respiratory tract with ease of use. This series is our new take on the well-known and frequently published VITROCELL® Cloud systems (6-, 12- and 24-well). Its functionality enables fully automated processes with an all-in-one control unit. Everyday experiments at the air/liquid interface have never been easier. The Cloud system is suitable for nebulization of solutions and suspensions. Possible fields of application are screening of inhaled drugs, virus research toxicity testing of inhaled substances such as chemicals or nanoparticles.

In response to the scientific need to expose in physiologically relevant conditions, the VITROCELL® Cloud Alpha exposure devices have been specifically designed to enable direct exposure of mammalian cells or tissue at the Air/Liquid Interface. Here the cell cultures are not covered with media as opposed to submerged conditions which cause an undesired inter­action of the formerly airborne substances with the culture media.

The video explains the procedures of the experiment.

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