Environmental air monitoring is of great interest due to the large number of people concerned and exposed to different possible risks. From the most common particles in our environment (e.g. byproducts of combustion or pollens) to more specific and dangerous agents (e.g. pathogenic microorganisms), there are a large range of particles that need to be controlled. In this article we propose an original study on the collection of electrostatically deposited particles using electrowetting droplet displacement. A variety of particles were studied, from synthetic particles (e.g. Polystyrene Latex (PSL) microsphere) to different classes of biological particle (proteins, bacterial spores and a viral simulant). Furthermore, we have compared ElectroWetting-On-Dielectric (EWOD) collecting efficiency using either a hydrophobic or a superhydrophobic counter electrode. We observe different cleaning efficiencies, depending on the hydrophobicity of the substrate (varying from 45% to 99%). Superhydrophobic surfaces show the best cleaning efficiency with water droplets for all investigated particles (MS2 bacteriophage, BG (Bacillus atrophaeus) spores, OA (ovalbumin) proteins, and PSL).

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Research Division:	Technology
Research Group:	Environmental Biotechnology
Research Field:	Environmental Biotechnology Diagnostics (incl. Biosensors)
Objective Division:	Defence
Objective Group:	Defence
Objective Field:	Army
UTAS Author:	Lapierre, F (Dr Florian Lapierre)
ID Code:	99994
Year Published:	2011
Web of Science® Times Cited:	57
Deposited By:	Austn Centre for Research in Separation Science
Deposited On:	2015-04-22
Last Modified:	2017-11-03
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