High air flow-rate electrostatic sampler for the rapid monitoring of airborne coronavirus and influenza viruses

Recent advancements in the measurement of pathogenic airborne viruses

“…It was found that high electric fields resulted in direct and indirect peroxidation of the lipids and hemagglutinin proteins on the viruses; however, the antigenicity of NPs of the viruses was preserved, and a 160 times higher virus concentration was obtained after 60 min of sampling compared to the BioSampler. Electrostatic virus collectors were also used to extract the RNAs of the coronavirus 229E and influenza viruses (H1N1 and H3N2) using PCR at 4–10 LPM ( Kim et al, 2020b ); these collectors were further developed to work at higher flow rates of up to 100 LPM and collection efficiencies of 70–80% at -10 kV using a larger collection area ( Kim et al, 2021 ). Ascorbic acid added into sampling media was observed to reduce virus damage caused by electrostatic sampling ( Piri et al, 2021 ).…”

“…qPCR; quantitative polymerase chain reaction, ELISA; enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, RIA; radio immunoassay, MALDI-TOF; matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight, ATP; adenosine triphosphate, PMA: propidium monoazide, QCM: quartz crystal microbalance, SPR: surface plasmon resonance, FET: field effects transistor, UVAPS: ultraviolet aerodynamic particle sizer. Detection method Type of detection Specific to state of virus Limitation Comments References Culturing techniques Plaque Only plaque forming virus Specific culture conditions necessary; cannot be used for non-infectious viruses ( Brooke, 2014 ) TCID50 Both plaque forming and non-plaque forming infectious viruses Molecular qPCR, droplet digital PCR Plaque forming, non-plaque forming, and dead viruses (with intact DNA/RNA) Quantification may be highly affected by contamination, nucleic acid extraction and improper sampling; time consuming ( Kim et al, 2021 , Sharma Ghimire et al, 2019 ) Isothermal techniques PMA-qPCR Differentiate intact from compromised virions ( Bonifait et al, 2015 ) Immunoassay (Chemical tracer/Biochemical assay) ELISA Both plaque forming and non-plaque forming infectious virus. Dead virus and specific protein of a virus Time consuming; knowledge about specific antibodies No report on viral aerosols yet ( Ghosh et al, 2015b ) RIA Specific chemical labeling Neuraminidase (NA) activity Both plaque forming and non-plaque forming infectious viruses NA activities are present for several viruses including influenza A, B, parainfluenza, and rubella viruses.…”

Detection of Suspended SARS-CoV-2 in Indoor Air Using an Electrostatic Sampler

“…Recently, samplers using electrostatic precipitator 12 have been reported 13,14,15,16 . Electrostatic precipitator has advantages such as low pressure drop, high collection e ciency for ne particles, and collection on liquid, and can be designed to suit the application.…”

“…Midget impingers and gelatin lters are commonly used as bioaerosol samplers 10,11 . The gelatin lter requires elution of the collected virus, and the midget impinger has low collection e ciency.Recently, samplers using electrostatic precipitator 12 have been reported 13,14,15,16 . Electrostatic precipitator has advantages such as low pressure drop, high collection e ciency for ne particles, and collection on liquid, and can be designed to suit the application.We have developed a prototype sampler that incorporates electrostatic precipitation into a vial and collects the particles in a liquid.…”

Challenges and Perspectives for Biosensing of Bioaerosol Containing Pathogenic Microorganisms

“…According to the report from the World Health Organization, lower respiratory infections remained the world’s most deadly communicable disease and were ranked as the 4th leading cause of death, resulting in 2.6 million deaths in 2019 [ 6 ]. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003 [ 7 , 8 ], H1N1 Influenza in 2009 [ 9 , 10 ], Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in 2013 [ 11 , 12 , 13 ], and Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in 2019 [ 14 , 15 , 16 ] could also be spread through bioaerosols, which pose a great threat to global public health. Therefore, it is vital to monitor bioaerosols containing microorganism pathogens for prevention and control of the outbreaks of epidemic airborne diseases.…”