An advanced personal nasal sampler (PNS) to assess occupational exposures to airborne viruses

一种先进的个人鼻腔采样器(PNS)，用于评估职业暴露 空气传播病毒 本资助申请响应PAR-18-798：NIOSH探索性和/或开发性资助计划(R21)。 在工作场所暴露于空气传播的病毒，如SARS-CoV-2和其他病毒，是世界范围内的一个主要问题， 而且需要新的工具来确定实际的个人接触。个人采样器通常需要 笨重的外部采样部件，如泵和油管。我们建议发展一种个人 鼻采样器(PNS)：一种利用人自己的呼吸和先进的过滤介质来测量的设备 个人实际接触空气传播的传染病，包括病毒和携带病毒的飞沫。我们 假设建议的PNS对于广泛的颗粒大小具有90%的收集效率 (从病毒到病毒颗粒聚集)和低气流阻力。它将不需要任何外部组件。 PNS将由安装在医用级3D打印容器中的新型混合过滤器组成。PNS将会是 戴在人的鼻孔前端，充当空气中颗粒物的个人采样器。混合滤光器 将通过在几个候选基板上涂覆永久生产的纳米纤维来设计 极化物质，如铁电聚偏氟乙烯[PVDF或P(VDF-TrFE)]。PNS的 性能将在实验室中用多分散颗粒(如氯化钠)和灭活进行测试 人类冠状病毒OC43。我们还将开发和优化一种有效的方案来洗脱捕获的病毒颗粒 被美国国家安全局。PNS还将在医院分诊区进行测试，在那里它将被贴在人体模型的鼻孔上； PNS捕获的病毒RNA的数量将与参考采样器捕获的数量进行比较。这个 PNS将以30-85 L/分钟的采样流速运行。实地测试将被用来为我们未来的工作做准备 对志愿者进行研究，以评估他们在工作活动中接触传染性病毒颗粒的情况。 该提案的目的是响应国家卫生研究院新冠肺炎研究议程的呼吁，以了解SARS-CoV-2 在工作场所环境中暴露。它还响应NIOSH战略计划的“免疫、传染病和皮肤病” 疾病预防“跨部门和国家农业、林业和渔业部门；医疗保健； 服务；运输、仓储和公用事业。 该提案通过开发一种创新工具来响应NIOSH R2P倡议，该工具将确定 个人实际接触空气传播的病毒剂，从而导致工人健康保护。新的个人 采样技术最终将转移到工作场所。 这项研究的结果将是一种PNS原型，用于确定个人在 职业环境。我们预计，中期成果将包括一项专利，在 文献，最后，采样器在工作环境中的适应。最终结果预计将是 更好地了解个人接触呼吸道病毒的情况，最终采取措施最大限度地减少这种 暴露和改善工人健康结果。

An advanced personal nasal sampler (PNS) to assess occupational exposures to airborne viruses This grant application responds to PAR-18-798: NIOSH Exploratory and/or Developmental Grant Program (R21). Exposure to airborne viruses, such as SARS-CoV-2 and others in a workplace is a major concern worldwide, and new tools are needed to determine the actual personal exposures. Personal samplers typically require cumbersome external sampling components, such as pumps and tubing. We propose to develop a personal nasal sampler (PNS): a device that utilizes a person’s own breathing and an advanced filter medium to measure actual personal exposures to airborne infectious agents, including viruses and virus-laden droplets. We hypothesize that the proposed PNS will have a collection efficiency of >90% for a broad range of particle sizes (from viruses to virus-particle agglomerates) and low airflow resistance. It will not need any external components. PNS will consist of a novel hybrid filter installed in a medical-grade 3D-printed container. The PNS will be worn at the anterior tip of a person’s nostrils and act as a personal sampler of airborne particles. The hybrid filter will be designed by coating several candidate base substrates with nanofibers produced from permanently polarized substances, such as ferroelectric polyvinylidene fluoride [PVDF or P(VDF-TrFE)]. The PNS’s performance will be tested in a laboratory with polydisperse particles (e.g., sodium chloride) and inactivated human coronavirus OC43. We will also develop and optimize an effective protocol to elute viral particles captured by the PNS. PNS will also be tested in the hospital triage area, where it will be affixed to a mannequin’s nostrils; the amount of viral RNA captured by the PNS will be compared with that captured by a reference sampler. The PNS will be operated at sampling flow rates of 30-85 L/min. The field testing will be used to prepare us for future studies with volunteer workers to assess their exposure to infectious viral particles during work activities. The proposal’s goal responds to NIOSH’s COVID-19 Research Agenda calling to understand SARS-CoV-2 exposure in workplace settings. It also 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 tool that will determine actual personal exposures to airborne viral agents, thus leading to worker health protection. The new personal sampling technology will eventually be transferred into the workplace. The output of the study will be a prototype PNS 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 sampler in work environments. The end outcome is expected to be a better understanding of personal exposures to respiratory viruses, eventually leading to steps minimizing such exposures and improving worker health outcomes.