Functional Improvements to a Water Condensation-Based Viable Airborne Virus Sampling Technology: The BioSpot-VITA Bioaerosol Sampler
BRADEN STUMP, Dominick Heskett, Gregory S. Lewis, Arantzazu Eiguren-Fernandez, Brian Annis, Patricia Keady, Handix Scientific Inc.
Abstract Number: 258
Working Group: Instrumentation and Methods
Abstract
In the wake of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and outbreaks of avian influenza, the sampling of viable airborne viruses has proved to be paramount to the scientific community for improving public health surveillance and response. Traditional bioaerosol samplers, such as filters and impactors, damage airborne virus through mechanical stresses and desiccation, negatively effecting the viability of the captured biological material. Moderated water condensation growth tube (WCGT) collection contains core technology that does not desiccate or stress incoming bioaerosol, maintaining sample integrity of the viruses captured, and has been used in several landmark aerovirology studies to capture viable virus from the air from infected humans or animals. However, current WCGT samplers have limitations that can restrict ambient aerosol studies. Instrument size, weight, and noise can negatively affect ability to complete research without compromising air flow rate and captured sample concentration. This presentation discusses the design, implementation, and results of redesigning a WCGT technology to better perform practical aerovirology sampling, named the BioSpot-VITA bioaerosol sampler. Critical design requirements were derived from scientists involved in publications related to airborne virus sampling. The “base technology” of the BioSpot-VIVAS bioaerosol sampler was then redesigned to meet the needs of scientists without compromising scientific integrity, which was then characterized in the lab and field tested for virus capture. Weight of the instrument (noted as the most important requirement to improve upon) compared to the VIVAS was reduced by 41%, volume was reduced by 33%, noise level of instrument was reduced by 10dBA. Factors such as air flow rate, sample concentration level, collection efficiency of sampling virus-sized particles into liquid in a petri dish, and ease of use were found in lab testing to be unchanged and in some operating circumstances further optimized. For cutting-edge aerovirology research to evolve, the technology used to complete it must also evolve to meet researcher requirements.