A pipette dispenses blue liquid into a test tube in a laboratory setting. A rack of test tubes and an Erlenmeyer flask with blue liquid are visible.

Exposure Testing

The Exposure Testing Shared Resource (ETSR) (developing) leverages the world-renowned expertise and collaborative experiences in conducting studies of chemical carcinogen exposures at the Masonic Cancer Center (MCC) and is directed by Dr. Irina Stepanov. 

The ETSR supports translational research ranging from sampling and chemical analysis of exposure sources and materials, to studies in cells and laboratory animals, to human laboratory and field studies of exposure, to developing and measuring biomarkers of exposure and cancer-related effects in various biological matrices. 

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Services

The following ETSR services are offered to facilitate the multidisciplinary research requiring assessments of exposures, and of effects caused by such exposures, across biological systems:

  • Sampling, analysis, and development of exposure materials.
  • Design and execution of air-liquid interface in vitro exposure experiments.
  • Design and execution of animal exposure experiments.
  • Design and execution of human exposure studies.
  • Biospecimen collection and analysis resources. 

The ETSR services can be customized to the nature of each project and the level of ETSR staff involvement. 

View a comprehensive list of services offered.

Instrumentation

  • Borgwaldt LX1 (single-port) and LM4 (4-port) Linear smoking machines  (for smoking conventional and electronic cigarettes)
  • Borgwaldt semi-automatic 10-port NGX10 Linear Vaping machine (for e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products).
  • KORBER SMI-PDV semi-automatic ventilation and pressure drop testing machine for cigarettes, filter rods, tubes, and cigarillos or cigars.
  • High-accuracy Mini-MOUDI™ Impactor with small-range (respirable) particle characterization (size range from 0.05 to 10  µm) 
  • Range of smaller equipment for testing physical properties of various environmental samples and products (pH meters, laboratory moisture heating block, high accuracy gravimetric scales)
  • VITROCELL® VC system for the direct air–liquid interface exposure studies of cigarette smoke, e-cigarette aerosols, and environmental particulate exposures under physiologically relevant conditions. The system is equipped with an Environmental Test Chamber for temperature and humidity control.
  • Scireq inExpose inhalation exposure system for in vivo  studies of cigarette smoke, e-cigarette aerosols, and other nebulized exposures, supporting both whole-body and nose-only configurations. 
  • In partnership with the Tobacco Research Programs, access to negative pressure rooms for human laboratory studies of tobacco and nicotine product use and related exposures. 
  • CReSS Smoking topography device for automatic measurement of smoking behavior parameters, including puff count, puff volume, puff duration, and start/end of smoking sessions
  • Custom  wearable virtual impactors (developed in partnership with the UMN Department of Mechanical Engineering), passive samplers for specific classes of chemical compounds, and other exposure analysis tools for personal exposure sampling.