AAAR 35th Annual Conference October 17 - October 21, 2016 Oregon Convention Center Portland, Oregon, USA
Abstract View
Size Amplification and Viability Preservation of Aerosolized Virus by Batch Adiabatic-expansion for Size Intensification by Condensation (BASIC)
HAORAN YU, Chang-Yu Wu, Nima Afshar-Mohajer, John Lednicky, Hugh Fan, Alexandros Theodore, Liming Dong, University of Florida
Abstract Number: 436 Working Group: Bioaerosols
Abstract Pathogenic viruses transmitted in airborne routes exert serious impacts on human health, agriculture, and are of major concern for homeland security. Sampling is a critical step for risk assessment of exposure to airborne viruses. However, conventional bioaerosol sampling devices operate based on inertia of sampled aerosol and are inefficient in collecting virus aerosols because of their low inertia. In this study, a novel Batch Adiabatic Size Intensification by Condensation (BASIC) device was developed as an assisting tool for efficient sampling of aerosolized virus particles. The BASIC device enlarges virus aerosols by condensing water vapor on them; condensation occurs on the virus nuclei as the result of a rapid, adiabatic expansion in a humid environment. The physical and viable virus collection effectiveness of BASIC was optimized through sensitivity analyses of key parameters. The results of physical efficiency tests showed that compression pressure, number of compression/expansion (C/E) cycles and water temperature affected the sampling performance of both polystyrene latex (PSL) and MS2 bacteriophage aerosols, and size amplification of ~100 nm growth to > 1 micro-m was attainable under optimal conditions. Virus viability tests indicated that increased compression pressure was beneficial for the collection of viable MS2, whereas multiple C/E cycles were not. A water temperature of 40 degree C promoted viable MS2 collection, but at 60 degree C, virus inactivation occurred. In addition, viable MS2 collected by BASIC-assisted BioSampler was much higher than that collected by Biosampler alone. In conclusion, this device is efficient for the collection of viable virus from aerosols.