Apparatus for controlled microwave exposure of aerosolized pathogens

• DOI: 10.1063/5.0032823
• Publication Date: 2021-01-26T15:56:06Z
• Authors: Brad W. Hoff; Jeremy W. McConaha; Zane W. Cohick; Matthew A. Franzi; Daniel A. Enderich; David Revelli; Jason Cox; Hammad Irshad; Hugh H. Pohle; Andreas Schmitt-Sody; Samuel C. Schaub; Anthony E. Baros; Naomi C. Lewis; John W. Luginsland; Michael T. Lanagan; Steven Perini
• Keywords: Aerosols; 0303 health sciences; 03 medical and health sciences; Microwaves; Microbiology

A set of three apparatus enabling RF exposure of aerosolized pathogens at four chosen frequencies (2.8 GHz, 4.0 GHz, 5.6 GHz, and 7.5 GHz) has been designed, simulated, fabricated, and tested. Each apparatus was intended to operate at high power without leakage of RF into the local environment and to be compact enough to fit within biocontainment enclosures required for elevated biosafety levels. Predictions for the range of RF electric field exposure, represented by the complex electric field vector magnitude, that an aerosol stream would be expected to encounter while passing through the apparatus are calculated for each of the chosen operating frequencies.