Aerosol Samplers

Dr. Koehler's lab is interested in developing novel aerosol samplers to improve the relationship between exposures and health effects. Dr. Koehler has investigated two novel, low-cost aerosol samplers in the laboratory:

• The first used polyurethane foams to mimic the size-specific deposition of aerosol in the human respiratory tract. We expect that estimating aerosol deposition will provide a more biologically-relevant estimate of dose and risk than traditional samplers that estimate aerosol intake.
• This sampler represents a large decrease in cost of the exposure assessment because the foam substrate is inexpensive and the low pressure-drop through it eliminates the need for costly personal sampling pumps.
• Future research will deploy these personal samplers in the field and investigate the link between exposure, particle deposition, and dose for airborne heavy metals.