Concentrating viable airborne pathogens using a virtual impactor with a compact water-based condensation air sampler.

ABSTRACT: Pathogens can be collected from air and detected in samples by many methods. However, merely detecting pathogens does not answer whether they can spread disease. To fully assess health risks from exposure to airborne pathogens, the infectivity of those agents must be assessed. Air samplers which operate by growing particles through water vapor condensation and subsequently collecting them into a liquid medium have proven effective at conserving the viability of microorganisms. We present a study that assessed performance improvement of one such sampler, BioSpot-GEM^™, gained by augmenting it with an upstream virtual impactor (VI) designed to concentrate particles in aerosols. We demonstrate that such an integrated unit improved the collection of live Escherichia coli by a

SUBMITTER: Vass WB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11530212 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature