AAAR 36th Annual Conference October 16 - October 20, 2017 Raleigh Convention Center Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
Abstract View
The Pollution Particulate Concentrator (PoPCon), an Ambient Pollution Concentrator for the Study of Pathogen-Particulate Interactions
NICOLAS GROULX, Bruce Urch, Caroline Duchaine, Samira Mubareka, James Scott, University of Toronto
Abstract Number: 25 Working Group: Instrumentation and Methods
Abstract Severe smog events are associated with the exacerbation of respiratory disease. Despite the significant health burden associated with such events, little is known about how the particulate matter (PM) in air pollution interacts with viruses in the air. In order to improve our understanding of this complex interaction and its implications on human health, new research methods need to be developed. We developed a novel system to characterize aerosol interactions between PM and viruses using a particle concentrator capable of concentrating ambient outside PM in an urban setting.
Phi6 (Φ6) bacteriophage is an enveloped RNA virus used to model influenza virus in biosafety level 1 settings. PhiX174 (ΦX174) bacteriophage is a non-enveloped ssDNA virus used to model poliovirus in the same conditions. Viruses were aerosolized into a 0.43 m3 chamber containing HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filtered air (control) or unfiltered concentrated ambient fine particles (PM2.5). Virus infectivity was determined by plaque assay against their bacterial host. Relative humidity (RH), temperature and ozone were recorded. PM2.5 mass concentration, as well as particle counts and size distribution were also recorded inside the chamber. Concentrated ambient PM2.5 mass concentration ranged from 100 - 1300 µm/m3 and were mixed with an artificial aerosol of Φ6 bacteriophage (n = 5) or Φ6/ΦX174 bacteriophages (n = 3). Preliminary data reveal that the presence of PM2.5 decreases Φ6 infectivity by 28.8% after aerosolization (t = 0min) compared to HEPA-filtered air. ΦX174 co-aerosolized with Φ6 displayed increased viability (+ 35.8%, at t = 0 min) compared to Φ6 (-26.7%, at t = 0 min) while interacting with PM2.5.
This novel system allows the study of the interactions between aerosolized viruses and high levels of PM2.5 as can occur during smog events. More work is required to understand the precise mechanisms and to assess the potential modifying effects of temperature, relative humidity and ozone. This work has implications for the aerosol infectivity and potential transmissibility of human respiratory viruses during air pollution events.