Personal Electrostatic Bioaerosol Sampler (PEBS) with High Sampling Flow Rate

描述（由申请人提供）：本赠款申请响应PAR-12-252：NIOSH探索和/或发展赠款计划（R21）。众所周知，接触空气传播的生物制剂会在职业人群和普通人群中引起广泛的呼吸系统疾病和其他健康疾病。本研究的主要目标是通过设计和开发先进的个人静电生物气溶胶采样器（PEBS）来提高我们评估生物制剂暴露的能力。这种新的个人采样器重量轻，设备齐全（没有笨重的外部真空泵），能够在高采样流速下测量长达数小时的暴露。我们假设，静电收集方法，超疏水收集表面和特定的采样器设计的组合将使高效的微生物收集在高流速和延长的时间，从而允许更准确地评估个人暴露于甚至低的微生物浓度-一个功能，目前缺乏个人生物气溶胶采样器。这将大大提高我们确定接触风险和保护受影响人口的能力。采样器将使用计算流体动力学设计和开发，然后使用3D打印制造。原型采样器将首先在实验室中用非生物和生物颗粒进行测试;然后其 将在实验室和室内职业环境中与其他采样器的性能进行比较。该提案响应了诺拉的几个优先研究领域：国家农业、林业和渔业;国家服务;国家运输、仓储和公用事业，通过响应他们的呼吁，改善对职业因子的暴露评估（例如，生物制剂）以及预防和减少与工作有关的呼吸道传染病。该提案还响应了几个跨部门方案，例如，E接触评估和呼吸系统疾病。 该提案通过开发一种创新工具来响应NIOSH r2 P倡议，该工具将能够改进对生物空气污染物个人暴露的评估。新的暴露评估技术最终将导致更好的工人健康保护。在进一步开发后，该技术将被转移到工作场所实施。在未来的研究中，我们将与各利益相关者合作，以验证和提高该技术在现场应用中的有效性。 这项研究的成果将是一种用于职业环境的先进工具：一种新的个人生物气溶胶采样器的原型，以及描述这项技术及其性能的出版物和介绍。我们预计，中期成果将包括这项技术的专利，描述采样器的文献的引用，并最终在实践中采用该技术。由于采样器将能够进行更准确的暴露评估，预计这项研究的最终结果将是更好地了解危险生物颗粒的暴露情况，最终导致更好的健康保护。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This grant application responds to PAR-12-252: NIOSH Exploratory and/or Developmental Grant Program (R21). Exposure to airborne biological agents is known to cause a wide range of respiratory and other health disorders in occupational and general populations. The main goal of this research is to improve our ability to assess exposures to biological agents by designing and developing an advanced personal electrostatic bioaerosol sampler (PEBS). This new personal sampler will be lightweight, self-contained (without a cumbersome external vacuum pump), and capable of measuring exposures for up to several hours at high sampling flow rates. We hypothesize that a combination of electrostatic collection method, superhydrophobic collection surface and specific sampler design will enable efficient microorganism collection at h high flow rates and extended periods of time thus allowing a more accurate assessment of personal exposures to even to low microorganism concentrations - a feature currently lacking in personal bioaerosol samplers. This will substantially improve our ability to identify exposure risks and protect affected populations. The sampler will be designed and developed using computational fluid dynamics and then manufactured using 3D printing. The prototype sampler will first be tested in a laboratory with non-biological and biological particles; then its performance will be compared with that of other samplers in a laboratory and indoor occupational environment. This proposal responds to several NORA's Priority Research Agendas: National Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing; National Services; National Transportation, Warehousing, and Utilities by answering their call to improve exposure assessment to occupational agents (e.g., biological agents) and to prevent and reduce work-related respiratory infectious diseases. The proposal also responds to several cross-sector programs, e.g., E exposure assessment and Respiratory diseases. This proposal responds to NIOSH r2P initiative by developing an innovative tool that will enable improved assessment of personal exposures to biological air contaminants. The new exposure assessment technology will eventually lead to better worker health protection. Upon further development, the technology will be transferred for implementation in the workplace. In future studies we will work collaboratively with various stakeholders to verify and improve effectiveness of this technology for field applications. The output of the study will be an advanced tool for occupational environments: a prototype of a new personal bioaerosol sampler, and publications and presentations describing the technology and its performance. We expect that intermediate outcomes will include a patent on this technology, citations of the literature describing the sampler and finally adoption of the technology in practice. Since the sampler will enable a more accurate exposure assessment, the end outcome of this research is expected to be a better understanding of exposures to hazardous biological particles eventually leading to better health protection.