CYTO 2025 Tutorials: The Critical Aspects of Aerosol Containment Testing in Flow Cytometry – What are the Essential Requirements for Safety?

The Critical Aspects of Aerosol Containment Testing in Flow Cytometry – What are the Essential Requirements for Safety?

Kristen Reifel, PhD - Staff Scientist, Flow Cytometry Core, Vaccine Research Center, NIAID/NIH
Evan Jellison, PhD - Associate Professor/Director of Flow Cytometry, UCONN Health, University of Connecticut School of Medicine
Catherine Carswell-Crumpton - R&D Scientist Engineer II/ Director Flow Core, FACS Core, Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University
Michael, Solga, MS, SCYM (ASCP) - Director, Flow Cytometry Core Facility, University of Virginia School of Medicine

Flow cytometers, especially droplet-based cell sorters, pose significant safety risks for operators and laboratory workers. In particular, high concentrations of aerosols can be generated within the sort collection area of cell sorters during instrument failures, such as a partial nozzle obstruction, that cause the stream to deviate. Protecting operators and laboratory workers by ensuring containment of these aerosols is essential when working with potentially infectious or hazardous samples. Currently, aerosol containment is accomplished through the generation of continuous negative airflow within the sort collection area using an aerosol evacuation system that is either an external vacuum unit or is integrated into a primary containment device such as a Class II biosafety cabinet. These aerosol evacuation systems are not generally certified or tested after installation. Thus, members of the ISAC Biosafety Committee developed a test that can be used to determine whether the system adequately contains and evacuates aerosols. This test is broadly compatible across cell sorter models and laboratory facilities to enable safety testing for all. It can also be used to evaluate any instrument that poses a risk of aerosol generation by providing a method to visualize aerosol release.

In this tutorial, we will review the key aspects of the updated aerosol containment test including critical steps, recommendations for commercially available aerosol sampler cassettes, interpretation of results, troubleshooting recommendations, and other potential applications of the test. We will also discuss how to incorporate this test into laboratory protocols and risk mitigation plans. Attendees of all backgrounds will be able to ask questions and participate in a panel discussion where experts from the ISAC Biosafety Committee will discuss how they have implemented aerosol containment testing and other risk mitigation measures in their own laboratories.

CMLE Credit: 1.0