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Efficient collection of viable virus aerosol through laminar‐flow, water‐based condensational particle growth
Author(s) -
Pan M.,
EigurenFernandez A.,
Hsieh H.,
AfsharMohajer N.,
Hering S.V.,
Lednicky J.,
Hugh Fan Z.,
Wu C.Y.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of applied microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.889
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1365-2672
pISSN - 1364-5072
DOI - 10.1111/jam.13051
Subject(s) - laminar flow , aerosol , particle (ecology) , environmental science , chemistry , biology , mechanics , ecology , physics , organic chemistry
Aims State‐of‐the‐art bioaerosol samplers have poor collection efficiencies for ultrafine virus aerosols. This work evaluated the performance of a novel growth tube collector ( GTC ), which utilizes laminar‐flow water‐based condensation to facilitate particle growth, for the collection of airborne MS 2 viruses. Methods and Results Fine aerosols (<500 nm) containing MS 2 coliphage were generated from a Collison nebulizer, conditioned by a dilution dryer and collected by a GTC and a BioSampler. The GTC effectively condensed water vapour onto the virus particles, creating droplets 2–5 μ m in diameter, which facilitated collection. Comparison of particle counts upstream and downstream revealed that the GTC collected >93% of the inlet virus particles, whereas the BioSampler's efficiency was about 10%. Viable counts of the GTC ‐collected viruses were also one order of magnitude higher than those of the BioSampler ( P = 0·003). Conclusion The efficiency of the GTC for the viable collection of MS 2 viruses exceeds that of industry standard instrument, the BioSampler, by a factor of 10–100. Significance and Impact of the Study This study reveals that the GTC is an effective collector of viable MS 2 aerosols, and concludes the instrument will be an effective tool for studying viable virus aerosols and the inhalation risks posed by airborne viruses.