It offers a capacity of up to 18 cell culture compartments for exposure and 6 compartments for clean air control.

All key functions for successful exposure such as, aerosol flow rates, humidity, temperature and leak test are edited by touch-screen prior to the experiment. The respective data is shown on live graphs and stored for further analysis. The cells are exposed at the air/liquid interface on 6/12/24-well sized cell culture inserts.

The isokinetic sampling system enables a uniform and reproducible delivery of the test substance to the cells. Applying an electrical field increases deposition efficiency.

Post-exposure the cells are further processed to measure a wide range of endpoints, e.g. cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, proliferation, cellular and oxidative stress as well as inflammation. See also the VITROCELL assay guide for further information.

Available adaptor set for:

• 6-well sized inserts

• 12-well sized inserts

• 24-well sized inserts

A size selective inlet separates different fractions of aerosol according to the installed nozzle plate. The Inlet is adjustable to PM1, PM2,5 and PM10.

The base module accepts up to 6 cell culture inserts. Each cell culture compartment has an independent media reservoir. A transparent control window facilitates the external monitoring of media levels. The temperature is controlled by means of a water bath; therefore an additional incubator is not required during the experiment. The temperature for each module is individually monitored. The base module is made of electropolished stainless steel. It is autoclavable at 121° C (250° F) for 20 min.

The aerosol inlet stream flows through specifically shaped inlets which are optimized for electrostatic deposition. They are made of stainless steel with VITROGLIDE surface treatment. The stainless steel / VITROGLIDE inlets are specifically designed for the work with nanoparticles. The aerosol flow rate is controlled by mass flow controllers, with data recording by the central data management system.

• The aerosol is guided into the central reactor of the system where it is humidified if needed. Distribution to the modules via isokinetic sampling probes enables high reproducibility and uniformity of results.

• A significant increase in deposition efficiency is achieved by applying an adjustable electrical field between aerosol inlet and cell culture.

• The microbalance sensor is capable of measuring the deposition in the module at a resolution of 10 nanogram/cm2 per second. The sensors can be placed in all media compartments to validate the mass deposition in the module. After validation they can be removed so that the experiment can be carried out using the cell culture inserts. One microbalance sensor can remain in the module to monitor the dose ­during exposure. The data is displayed online using the VITROCELL®Monitor Software.

• All functions such as aerosol and vacuum flows, temperature, humidity automatic leak test, applied voltage for electrostatic deposition enhancement, start/end of the experiment can be edited using a large 15” touch-screen display. The central data management system provides valuable information on experiment parameters with user-friendly charts. The system can be networked and has a remote service module.

• The keyboard can be used alternatively to the touch screen.

• To provide different aerosol concentrations, a dilution system can be integrated into the station. The dilution ratios can be adjusted between 1:2 to 1:10.

• To analyse the aerosol at the same location than cell cutures, separate analytical modules can be integrated. They feature special inserts for TEM-Imaging, mass spectrometry of the gas phase as well as measurements of particle depostion via Quartz Crystal Microbalances.

• The time based shut down feature offers the possibility to adjust dose by switching off the different levels at different time points. Defining dose by different exposure times is a valuable alternative if a dilution system can not be integrated.

• Direct aerosol sampling

• Size selective inlet

• Automated process

• Temperature controlled system

• Integrated humidification of aerosol

• Aerosol flow control by mass flow controllers

• Touch-screen display

• Analytical modules for TEM and mass spectrometry

• Optional external or integrated dilution system

• Central data management system

• Online dose measurement

• Electrostatic deposition enhancement

• Integrated vacuum pump