Emtek V100, Portable Air Sample Controller

Emtek V100 Portable Air Sample Controller — Microbial Air Sampler

The Emtek V100 Portable Air Sample Controller​ (also marketed as the Emtek V100 Microbial Air Sampler) is a versatile, cleanroom-qualified portable instrument designed for quantitative viable airborne particle (microorganism) monitoring in pharmaceutical, biotechnology, healthcare, food & beverage, and environmental testing applications. Manufactured by EMTEK (USA), the V100 serves as both a standalone microbial air sampler and a centralized controller capable of driving one to four EMTEK sampling heads—including the R2S Rotary Slit Sampler, RAS Sieve Impaction Sampler, and RCG Compressed Air / Confined Space Sampler—from a single chassis. It supports normal ambient air sampling as well as compressed-gas microbiological testing, making it one of the few portable controllers purpose-built to address both routine cleanroom environmental monitoring (EM) and specialized high-pressure gas-line sterility verification per ISO 14698-1 and GMP Annex 1.

Operating Principle & Sampling Head Compatibility

The V100 employs a high-quality internal diaphragm pump with mass-flow-controlled suction, drawing air through a selected sampling head at precisely regulated volumetric flow rates of 28.3 L/min (1 CFM), 50 L/min, or 100 L/min.

• The R2S Rotary Slit Sampler​ uses the rotating-slit-to-agar (slit-to-agar impaction) principle: airborne microorganisms are accelerated through a narrow slit onto a slowly rotating 90 mm Petri dish containing agar medium. The turntable rotates approximately 355° during the sampling period, leaving a small unsampled buffer zone that allows operators to correlate recovered colony-forming units (CFUs) with the approximate time of capture—enabling temporal contamination analysis during dynamic aseptic processing.

• The RAS Sieve (Andersen-type) Impactor​ collects microbes by inertial impaction through multiple stages of perforated plates onto agar surfaces in a 90 mm dish.

• The RCG Compressed Gas Sampler​ reduces pressurized gas to atmospheric pressure via an inline regulator and directs it through a slit or impactor head, permitting direct microbiological sampling of plant compressed air, nitrogen, or CO₂ lines without additional dilution apparatus.

All heads accept standard 90 mm (or 100 mm) sterile agar plates (e.g., TSA, SDA). The V100 provides power and stepper-motor control to rotate R2S and RCG turntables in sync with the programmed sample duration.

User Interface, Remote Control & Data Management

The front panel houses a color LCD touchscreen​ displaying real-time flow rate, elapsed/preset time, sampled volume (L, m³, or ft³), alarm status, and battery/printer indicators. Menu navigation is intuitive, with multilingual support and context-sensitive help screens.

A hallmark feature is the included infrared (IR) remote control, operable from outside the ISO Class 5/7 cleanroom or isolator through a viewing panel. The remote enables Start, Stop, Pause/Resume, and Delay programming—allowing personnel to initiate or terminate sampling without entering the critical area, thereby minimizing human-borne contamination risk during aseptic process simulations (media fills) or routine EM.

The V100 stores >500 complete sample records​ (date, time, location ID, flow rate, sampled volume, alarm events) internally and retains >300 user-defined sample location entries. Data can be exported via USB-A (flash drive), USB-B (PC), or Ethernet (RJ45 for LIMS/network printer integration). An optional onboard thermal label printer​ prints key run parameters (sample ID, location, time, volume, flow rate, date) directly onto adhesive labels for affixing to Petri dishes—supporting chain-of-custody documentation and GLP/GMP traceability.

Cleanroom Design & Physical Construction

To meet stringent aseptic-area requirements, the V100 controller housing is molded from Kydex® (acrylic-PVC alloy composite) infused with Microban® antimicrobial additive, which actively inhibits the growth of bacteria and fungi on the instrument surface. All sampling-head contact parts exposed to the process environment are fabricated from 316 stainless steel or anodized aluminum; many are autoclavable or compatible with chemical disinfection (e.g., isopropanol, VHP).

The exhaust port incorporates a replaceable 0.2 μm HEPA filter, ensuring that air expelled from the pump does not compromise the cleanliness classification of the monitored zone. A retractable carrying handle and compact footprint (~25.4 × 20.3 × 17.8 cm; ~5.4–5.5 kg / 12 lb) make the unit easily portable between multiple sampling locations within a facility.

Alarms, Flow Assurance & Programmable Sampling

The V100 continuously monitors actual flow against the setpoint and triggers both audible and visual alarms​ if flow deviates beyond a programmable tolerance (typically ±5 %), or if the internal blower fails to maintain proper speed. This prevents invalid or incomplete sample runs from going unnoticed.

Sampling programs are highly flexible: users can define a 0–120 minute active sampling period, configure a delayed start, and set interval/cyclic sampling​ (run–pause–run sequences) for extended environmental studies. Single-head operation at 28.3 L/min supports vacuum-tubing extensions up to ~27.5 m (90 ft), allowing the sampling head to be placed inside isolators, RABS, or hard-to-reach locations while keeping the controller outside.

Typical Applications

• Pharmaceutical / Biopharma:​ ISO Class 5–8 cleanroom floating viable (FV) monitoring per EU GMP Annex 1; aseptic process simulation (media fill) support; compressed nitrogen/air microbiological verification.

• Biotechnology:​ BSL-2/BSL-3 lab ambient monitoring; fermenter-adjacent environmental checks.

• Healthcare:​ OR, ICU, and bone-marrow transplant unit air quality surveillance.

• Food & Beverage:​ Packaging-line and filling-room viable-air monitoring for HACCP/SQF programs.

• Compressed Gas Systems:​ Direct microbial sampling of process gases in GMP facilities.

Technical Specifications — Emtek V100 Portable Air Sample Controller

Specifications compiled from Emtek V100 user manual and datasheets (Emtekair.com). Confirm exact model suffix and regional options with your local Emtek distributor.