Bioaerosol Testing Services
ARE Labs scopes independent bioaerosol testing for air cleaners, in-duct devices, controlled detector challenges, and equipment or procedures that may release microbial aerosols. Each study is matched to the intended claim or decision.
Testing servicesBioaerosol Testing Services — key facts
- Laboratory
- ARE Labs (Aerosol Research and Engineering Labs), an independent third-party testing laboratory
- What is measured
- Airborne microbial challenge or release, with the reported outcome matched to the endpoint and study design
- Study formats
- Controlled chamber, in-duct single-pass, and field deployment
- Standards referenced
- ASTM E2720, ASTM E2721, ASTM E3135, ASHRAE 185.1, ASHRAE 185.2, ASHRAE 241, ISO 16000-36, ISO 16000-37, CDC/NIH BMBL
- Endpoints
- Culture (CFU) for culturable recovery; qPCR or ddPCR for nucleic-acid targets. Molecular detection alone is not a viability result
What does Bioaerosol Testing Services cover?
Bioaerosol studies answer different questions depending on the product and claim: reduction over time in a room, single-pass reduction in a duct, detector or barrier response to a controlled airborne load, or unintended release from equipment or a procedure.
What separates a bioaerosol study from ordinary microbiology is the controlled airborne path. The method must account for generation, transport, environmental conditions, collection, recovery, and the controls needed for the comparison. When the decision depends on culturable recovery, sampling and culture must preserve and measure that endpoint.
Which study do you need?
| If the situation is… | The study is | What the report contains |
|---|---|---|
| A room air cleaner or UV fixture needs a defensible reduction claim | Bioaerosol Efficacy Testing Room | Log reduction vs. time against a device-off control, per organism |
| A device sits in a duct or air handler and treats air in a single pass | Inline Bioaerosol Reduction | Single-pass reduction at rated flow, upstream vs. downstream |
| A detector, sampler, respirator, or barrier must be proven against a known airborne load | Device Challenge Aerosol | Response or penetration across a controlled concentration range |
| Equipment or a procedure may emit organisms rather than remove them | Bioaerosol Risk Assessment | Release pathways, exposure estimates, and mitigation comparison |
Chamber vs. in-duct: which claim is being made
The distinction that trips people up most often is chamber versus in-duct. A chamber study supports a claim about a space — how much airborne microbial load drops in a room over time. An in-duct study supports a claim about the equipment — how much load is removed in a single pass at rated airflow.
The two produce different numbers because they measure different things, and a marketing claim that blends them does not survive regulatory scrutiny. Which published standards frame a given study depends on the device and the claim; ARE Labs treats the standards clusters listed on this page as a citation set for protocol design rather than as methods that automatically govern a bioaerosol result.
How ARE Labs runs the study
Challenge design
Organism panel, concentration range, and carrier fluid chosen against the claim being supported and the standard it must satisfy.
Controlled generation
Nebulized or dry-dispersed challenge into a conditioned chamber or duct, with airflow, temperature, and relative humidity logged throughout.
Sampling and endpoints
Samplers and collection media are selected for the endpoint: culture for culturable recovery, or qPCR/ddPCR for nucleic-acid targets. Molecular detection alone is not reported as a viability result.
Controls and reporting
Device-off natural-decay control in the same chamber and session, then reduction reported against that control, not against zero.
Bioaerosol
Device challenge, room efficacy, inline reduction, risk assessment.
Standards and regulatory context
Common questions
How long does a bioaerosol study take?
A bioaerosol chamber efficacy study is scheduled around the number of organisms and conditions in scope, because each one needs its own session plus its paired device-off control. Protocol development, when the claim is novel, is usually the longer part of the schedule.
Which organisms can a bioaerosol challenge use?
Organism panels are selected against the claim and the applicable biosafety level. When a specific organism is named in the target standard, ARE Labs works to that organism.
What does a client need to send to ARE Labs?
The device as a customer would receive it, its rated operating settings, and the exact claim wording intended for publication. The claim wording matters more than most clients expect, because it determines the study design.
Can a bioaerosol study be run to a specific standard?
Yes. The standard should be named up front, because it changes the chamber configuration, the organism panel, and the sampling schedule. Retrofitting a completed study to a standard afterwards rarely works.
What is the difference between chamber and in-duct bioaerosol testing?
A chamber study measures how much airborne microbial load drops in a room over time and supports a claim about a space. An in-duct study measures how much load is removed in a single pass at rated airflow and supports a claim about the equipment. The two produce different numbers because they measure different things.
Related reading
Not sure which study fits? Send the claim you want to make and ARE Labs will tell you what it takes to support it.
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