Envco – Environmental Equipment

The Ionic Spore Trap was born out of our need to assess airborne populations of Phakopsora pachyrhizi, the soybean rust pathogen, for disease forecasting and early warnings. This information was vital in our attempts to issue spray advisories. We found that existing technology was simply not satisfactory for several reasons. Traps that depend upon collection of particulate matter on adhesive tape did not provide adequate microscopic resolution to identify fungal species. After several years of experimentation and field testing, we developed the Ionic Spore Trap.

Benefits
• Ionic Spore Traps utilize electrostatic capture for extremely high capture efficiency.
• Particulates can be analyzed with scanning electron microscopy, light microscopy, immunofluorescence and qPCR.
• The Investigator is completely programmable. Maximum volumetric air flow is >500 liters/minute.
• The Investigator utilizes a variety of collection mounts including our new Subsampler™.

The Investigator Solo™ accepts 12.5 mm (₁⁄₂ inch) and 25 mm (1 inch) sample stubs, which can then be topped with any of the capture media. The following analytical procedures can be employed with these capture media: light and fluorescence microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and qPCR. In addition, particulates can be analyzed for elemental composition with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) within a SEM. This latter analytical procedure is useful if one is interested in airborne particulate pollution such as heavy metal nanoparticles, asbestos, and smokestack emissions, etc.

The most important advantage of the Investigator Solo™ is its programmability. A Windows-based program allows the user to specify hour of the day and days of the week when it will operate. In addition, fan speed (throughput) for each hourly increment can be set. It also records temperature, relative humidity and line voltage, and these values can downloaded as an Excel® file to a computer.

Specifications:
Weight 7.2 kg +/- 30g
Voltage 12 volts DC or 120 volt mains
Amperage 1.4 Amps at 100% fan power
Power 12 volt DC or 120 volt mains
Housing Stainless steel
Specimen mount 12.5 mm or 25 mm stub plus the Subsampler (see below)
Air flow Programmable with a maximum of 660 L/min
Advanced features Integral logging capability for temp, RH and line voltage

Ordering Information
DS IS2 Investigator Solo Ionic Spore Trap

Optional Equipment
Subsampler ™This sample carrier replaces the standard carrier. It has three 12.5 mm electrostatically charged stubs that act as true subsamples for the captured particulates. Each stub can then be analyzed independently. For example, one stub can be examined with a SEM, another can be subjected to qPCR, and the third can be assessed for spore viability.
Sample stubs (12.5mm and 25mm) can be purchased in bulk.
Stub storage vault airtight containers to prevent contamination of unexposed or collected stubs
Sampling kit Kit includes storage vaults with stubs capped with a capture medium of choice and a pair of grippers for handling the stubs.
Extra Sample Carriers for the Investigator models