Development and evaluation of a new personal sampler for culturable airborne microorganisms

Agranovski, Igor E.; Agranovski, Victoria; Reponen, Tiina; Willeke, Klaus; Grinshpun, Sergey A.

doi:10.1016/s1352-2310(01)00488-5

Cited by 65 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…The bubbler was shown to maintain the viability of bacterial and fungal microorganisms during a long-term sampling: the recovery rate of stress-sensitive, gram-negative P. fluorescens bacteria was 61 ± 20%, while stress-resistant B. subtilis bacteria and A. versicolor fungi demonstrated recovery of 95 ± 9% and 97 ± 6%, respectively (Agranovski et al 2002a). When challenged with the robust Vaccinia virus, the bubbler provided an 89% recovery after a 5-minute sampling (Agranovski et al 2004c).…”

mentioning

confidence: 98%

“…A new concept based on a microbial collection by bubbling of the air through a porous medium submerged into a liquid (Agranovski et al 2002b) allows achieving high collection efficiency for submicrometer particles at relatively low sampling flow rates and under conditions that reduce mechanical stress on microorganisms. This concept has been materialized in a prototype personal sampler (Agranovski et al 2002a;Agranovski et al 2004a) called "the bubbler." The device consists of inner (45 mm internal diameter) and outer (semi-cylinder with the internal diameter of 75 mm) cases with a porous media secured by a nut to the bottom of the inner case.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Long-Term Sampling of Viable Airborne Viruses

Agranovski

Safatov

Pyankov

et al. 2005

Aerosol Science and Technology

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A novel bioaerosol sampling technique, which utilizes the bubbling process in the collection fluid, has recently been developed and found feasible for a long-term personal sampling of airborne bacteria and fungal spores as it maintained high physical collection efficiency and high microbial recovery rate for robust and stresssensitive microorganisms. Further tests have shown that the new technique also has potential to collect viable airborne viruses, particularly when utilized for a short-term sampling of robust strains. As the short-term sampling has a limited application for assessing personal exposure in bioaerosol-contaminated environments, the present study was undertaken to investigate the feasibility of the "bubbler" for a long-term monitoring of viable airborne viruses. Liquid droplets containing Vaccinia virions (that simulate Variola, a causative agent of smallpox) were aerosolized with a Collison nebulizer into a 400-liter test chamber, from which the droplets were collected by three identical prototype personal samplers in the liquid medium during different time periods ranging from 1 to 6 hours. The viral content was measured in the collection fluid of the sampler and in the initial suspension of the nebulizer using the fluorescence-based method and by enumerating plaque-forming units per milliliter of the fluids. The relative recovery of viruses after the sampling act was determined. The results show that the "bubbling" technique has consistent collection efficiency over time and is capable of maintaining the viability of Vaccinia, for at least 6 hours, with a loss in recovery rate of about 10%. The data demonstrate a good potential of the new technique for measuring personal exposure to robust airborne viruses over a long period.

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confidence: 98%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-Term Sampling of Viable Airborne Viruses

Agranovski

Safatov

Pyankov

et al. 2005

Aerosol Science and Technology

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“…However, for the PAS-5 sampler, C S-medium = C S-liquid because the recirculating liquid is the only collection medium. The orientation-averaged capture efficiency (Cp) for the personal bioaerosol samplers was calculated as (4) Results (Fig. 5a-c, respectively).…”

Section: Experimental Setup and Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, most early personal bioaerosol samplers were either directly applied or slightly modified versions of the existing personal samplers used for inert aerosols. [3][4][5] These earlier personal bioaerosol samplers were found to be inefficient in collecting viable bioaerosols because traditional approaches for sampling inert aerosols often rely on filter samplers, impingers, or impactors, which can negatively impact microbial viability during the sampling process. 6 Due to these limitations, it is necessary to develop new personal bioaerosol samplers that use unconventional methods to collect bioaerosols while maintaining an acceptable microbial survivability to accurately assess personal bioaerosol exposure in the workplace.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of physical sampling efficiency for cyclone-based personal bioaerosol samplers in moving air environments

Tolchinsky²,

Chen

et al. 2012

J. Environ. Monit.

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The need to determine occupational exposure to bioaerosols has notably increased in the past decade, especially for microbiology-related workplaces and laboratories. Recently, two new cyclone-based personal bioaerosol samplers were developed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in the USA and the Research Center for Toxicology and Hygienic Regulation of Biopreparations (RCT & HRB) in Russia to monitor bioaerosol exposure in the workplace. Here, a series of wind tunnel experiments were carried out to evaluate the physical sampling performance of these two samplers in moving air conditions, which could provide information for personal biological monitoring in a moving air environment. The experiments were conducted in a small wind tunnel facility using three wind speeds (0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 m s −1 ) and three sampling orientations (0°, 90°, and 180°) with respect to the wind direction. Monodispersed particles ranging from 0.5 to 10 μm were employed as the test aerosols. The evaluation of the physical sampling performance was focused on the aspiration efficiency and capture efficiency of the two samplers. The test results showed that the orientation-averaged aspiration efficiencies of the two samplers closely agreed with the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) inhalable convention within the particle sizes used in the evaluation tests, and the effect of the wind speed on the aspiration efficiency was found negligible. The capture efficiencies of these two samplers ranged from 70% to 80%. These data offer important information on the insight into the physical sampling characteristics of the two test samplers.

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“…Laboratory bioaerosol generators are increasingly used in studies measuring the performance of bioaerosol samplers and real-time monitoring instruments, developing sampling and analysis methods, evaluating new protective equipment, investigating inhalation toxicology or studying transport, ageing and deposition of airborne microorganisms (Thorne, 2000;Reponen et al, 2001;Agranovski et al, 2002Agranovski et al, , 2003Seo et al, 2007;Huang et al, 2008;Kanaani et al, 2008a, b;Agranovski et al, 2010;Grinshpun et al, 2010;Hwang et al, 2010;Xu et al, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feasibility of Generating Peaks of Bioaerosols for Laboratory Experiments

Simon

Duquenne

2013

Aerosol Air Qual. Res.

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Bioaerosol concentration peaks are frequently encountered in real-life atmospheres (indoor, outdoor, workplace, etc.), where they can be caused by several factors. However, evolution over time and variability of microbiological pollutant concentrations remain under-documented. The contribution of such peaks in the onset or the worsening of respiratory symptoms -in particular immuno-allergic reactions -has yet to be extensively studied. Although experimental bioaerosol generators are increasingly used, the intentional and controlled production of concentration peaks of biological agents has not yet been utilized in laboratory experiments. The main objective of this study was to show that it is possible to produce experimental bioaerosol concentration peaks with defined characteristics. Experiments were performed with a 'Liquid Sparging Aerosoliser'-type generator. With this system, peaks can be created by increasing the bubbling airflow through a film of bacterial (Escherichia coli) or fungal (Penicillium brevicompactum) liquid culture. The higher the set point value of the bubbling airflow, the greater the maximum bioaerosol concentration during the generated peak. Similarly, longer-lived peaks can be created by maintaining the increased airflow for a longer period of time. For both studied species, the relative size distribution was constant over time, regardless of modifications to the bubbling flow rate. The operator can monitor and control peak formation with this system thanks to real-time measurement of the number concentrations, targeting the appropriate particle size classes corresponding to diameters of the aerosolised microorganisms. This generator, characterized by gentle aerosolisation and a capacity to produce bioaerosol peaks, may contribute to enrich laboratory experiments for numerous applications.

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Development and evaluation of a new personal sampler for culturable airborne microorganisms

Cited by 65 publications

References 17 publications

Long-Term Sampling of Viable Airborne Viruses

Long-Term Sampling of Viable Airborne Viruses

Evaluation of physical sampling efficiency for cyclone-based personal bioaerosol samplers in moving air environments

Feasibility of Generating Peaks of Bioaerosols for Laboratory Experiments

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