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Effect of Sampling Duration on Bioaerosol Culturability When Using Passive Sampling Devices
SYDONIA MANIBUSAN, Gediminas Mainelis, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Abstract Number: 195
Working Group: Bioaerosols
Abstract
Bioaerosols are aerosolized biological particles with the potential to cause negative health effects such as disease transmission or exacerbation of respiratory diseases. Given the current pandemic caused by the COVID-19 virus, it is essential to have versatile and low-cost sampling tools capable of collecting representative bioaerosol samples over extended sampling times. Culture-based techniques remain widely used to determine bioaerosol presence, including in countries with a regulatory framework for bioaerosols. However, few studies have documented the impact of sampling duration on bioaerosol culturability over extended periods. The Rutgers Electrostatic Passive Sampler (REPS) is a passive bioaerosol area sampler that has demonstrated the ability to capture bioaerosol particles over long time frames. However, the impact of sampling duration on REPS culturable samples has not been determined. Therefore, the objective of this study was to identify the optimal duration for the REPS sampler based on sample culturability over extended sampling campaigns (24 hours to 21 days).
REPS samples were collected at different time periods over 21 days. Sample collection was repeated twice in both an outdoor and indoor location. The SAS Super 180, an active culture-based sampler, was used to collect collocated grab samples twice daily over two to three-minute durations to determine average daily bioaerosol concentrations. All REPS samples were plated on tryptic soy agar (TSA) and malt extract agar (MEA) plates for bacteria and fungi, respectively. REPS samples were also analyzed for ATP activity and total bacteria. In addition to colony counts, REPS performance to determine culturable bioaerosols was also evaluated based on its equivalent sampling flow rates normalized to the SAS sampler. Initial results showed REPS’ equivalent sampling rates of 0.981 ± 0.801 L/min (5 days) to 2.83 ± 1.43 L/min (3 days) for culturable bacteria outdoors. The 21-day samples had similar rates of 1.18 ± 0.606 L/min. We conclude that passive samplers such as REPS offer affordable and unobtrusive sampling over time periods ranging from days to weeks.