A novel passive sampler to assess personal exposures to airborne biological agents

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A novel passive sampler to assess personal exposures to airborne biological agents This grant application responds to PAR-18-798: NIOSH Exploratory/Developmental Grant Program (R21). We propose developing and testing a qualitatively new personal sampling device to monitor personal exposures to bioaerosols without needing a pump or power source while being lightweight, unobtrusive, and cheap. These advances are enabled by using novel materials and innovative sampler design. In addition, this novel personal sampling concept is strongly supported by preliminary data. We hypothesize that Personal Rutgers Electrostatic Passive Sampler (P-REPS) will have a sampling performance comparable to existing active personal samplers while offering light weight, small footprint, low cost, absence of pumps or power supplies, and sampling timeframes as long as days and even weeks. The sampler will help us better understand personal exposures to airborne biological agents and the transmission of those agents in occupational environments. P-REPS will use an electrostatic field created by specially configured poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) film, a permanently polarized ferroelectric polymer, to capture bioaerosol particles. The PVDF film will be wound in a spiral configuration so that the film surfaces with opposing polarization face one another and create a strong electrostatic field. The electrostatic field between the film layers and its fringing effect will attract bioaerosol and deposit them onto the film for post-sampling elution and analysis. The film will be secured in a 3D-printed frame, protective housing, and a slotted umbrella-shaped cap. Once the sampler is manufactured, it will be tested in chamber studies against an active personal sampler using several airborne microorganisms. The organisms captured by both samplers will be examined using microscopy, culturing, and ATP analysis and their quantity will be compared. The data will be used to calculate the Equivalent Sampling Rate (ESR) of P-REPS – a flow rate at which a filter sampler would capture the same number of microorganisms. Next, P-REPS will be tested against a reference sampler in several field environments with different microorganism concentrations. Here, both samplers will be placed on rotating manikins and also worn by study personnel. Our goal is to achieve ESR similar to or better than the flow rate of an active personal filter-based sampler, such as the IOM sampler. The proposal responds to NIOSH Strategic Plan’s “Immune, Infectious, and Dermal Disease Prevention” cross-sector and sectors of National Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing; Healthcare; Services; Transportation, Warehousing, and Utilities. This proposal responds to the NIOSH r2P initiative by developing an innovative personal sampler to determine personal exposures to bioaerosols, especially over long time frames, thus leading to worker health protection. The output of the study will be a prototype P-REPS for determining personal exposures to respiratory agents in occupational environments. We expect that intermediate outcomes will include a patent, citations in the literature, and, finally, the adaptation of the sampler in work environments. The end outcome is expected to be a better understanding of personal exposure to bioaerosols in workplaces.