American Association for Aerosol Research - Abstract Submission

AAAR 38th Annual Conference
October 5 - October 9, 2020

Virtual Conference

Abstract View


Taxonomic Characterization and Quantification of Personal Bioaerosol Exposures using Five Different Personal Samplers

NIRMALA THOMAS MYERS, Taewon Han, Hyeon-Ju Oh, Gediminas Mainelis, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

     Abstract Number: 255
     Working Group: Bioaerosols

Abstract
A study comparing a newly-developed Personal Electrostatic Bioaerosol Sampler (PEBS; developed at Rutgers University) and four existing personal aerosol and bioaerosol samplers - CIP 10-M sampler, Ultrasonic Personal Aerosol Sampler, NIOSH Personal Bioaerosol Cyclone Sampler 251, and Button Aerosol Sampler - was conducted to estimate personal bioaerosol exposures at three different sites for long-term sampling (up to 4 hours): a horse barn, outdoors, and a greenhouse on Rutgers campus. These locations had different wind speeds, temperature, relative humidity, and local microenvironments. Two sets of these five samplers were placed on chests of two mannequins to represent sampling in an individual’s breathing zone, and a total of 96 samples were collected. Samples were then forwarded to an external laboratory for extraction of genomic DNA, sequencing of the rRNA genes for bacteria (16s) and fungi (ITS), and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysis. Total DNA concentration estimate by qPCR analysis was performed using the SYBR Green ROX Mix (ThermoScientific) in a StepOnePlus Real-Time PCR System (Applied Biosystems Inc.).

The five samplers measured total DNA concentrations ranging from 102 to 105 copies/m3. Linear regression models of total DNA concentrations stratified by locations indicated that the five samplers measured similar concentrations of bacteria (p = 0.782) and fungi (p = 0.648). The bacterial and fungal diversity differed by location and personal sampler (p<0.05). A total of 428 bacterial genera were identified by 16s sequencing, including Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter, and Bacillus. ITS sequencing detected 43 fungal genera with higher frequencies of Epicoccum, Cladosporium, and Aspergillus. In conclusion, we found that bioaerosol exposures in terms of microorganism taxonomy and quantification differed by choice of a personal bioaerosol sampler and sampled microenvironments. These findings would be very useful when choosing tools for personal bioaerosol exposure assessments in various occupational environments.