What equipment is used in mould spore trap analysis?
Spore trap analysis requires several pieces of specialised equipment:
- Air sampling pump: Typically set to 15 L/min to draw a consistent volume of air.
- Spore trap cassettes: Examples include Air-O-Cell or Allergenco cassettes.
- Microscope: Usually a compound light microscope capable of at least 400x magnification.
- Staining reagents: Such as lactophenol cotton blue, which enhance visibility of spore features.
- Calibration devices: To ensure the air pump is operating accurately. Additional items include lab slides, coverslips, and mounting media for preparing and preserving samples.
