AAAR 33rd Annual Conference
October 20 - October 24, 2014
Rosen Shingle Creek
Orlando, Florida, USA
Abstract View
Application of ATP-based Bioluminescence for Bioaerosol Quantification: Effect of Sampling Method
TAEWON HAN, Gediminas Mainelis, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Abstract Number: 41 Working Group: Bioaerosols
Abstract An adenosine tri-phosphate (ATP)-based bioluminescence method can offer a quick and affordable solution for quantifying bioaerosol samples and could be applied to estimate the efficacy of various bioaerosol samplers. As part of our continuing development of this method, here we investigated how different bioaerosol sampling methods affect the intensity of ATP-based bioluminescence reactions. The following bioaerosol sampling methods we investigated when sampling Pseudomonas fluorescens and Bacillus atropheus aerosolized by a Collison nebulizer (BGI, Inc.): (1) Button Aerosol Sampler (SKC, Inc.) used with polycarbonate, PTFE, and cellulose nitrate filters, (2) BioSampler (SKC, Inc.) with 5 mL and 20 mL of collection liquid, and (3) our newly developed Electrostatic Precipitator with Superhydrophobic Surface (EPSS). All three samplers were tested for 15 and 60 minute sampling times. All bioaerosol samples were quantified using a ratio (R): luminescence intensity produced by the bacterial ATP (indicative of the total ATP content) vs. cell counts determined by microscopy.
The effect of sampling was quantified as a dimensionless ratio, RR (|1-R_sample/R_nebulizer|), which represents a change in microorganism condition before and after sampling. For B. atrophaeus, the RR when sampled with BioSampler ranged from 0.79 to 0.93; for Buttons sampler RR ranged from 0.51 to 0.90; the EPSS showed the lowest range RR values, from 0.32 and 0.55. Differently from B. atrophaeus, the average RR value for P. fluorescens was 4.2. We hypothesize that the drastic change has to do with damage to P. fluorescens during sampling, thus resulting in the release of ATP and a more efficient interaction of ATP and bioluminescence reagents. The results indicate that the intensity of ATP bioluminescence depends on a sampling method and amount of stress to microorganisms. Future studies will investigate the reactions of different species in more detail.