Advanced Sampler for Measuring Exposure to Biological Aerosols

描述（由申请人提供）：用于测量生物气溶胶暴露的先进采样器为了改进对空气中微生物暴露的评估，并保护处于这种暴露风险中的人群和资源，需要先进的生物气溶胶检测和传感系统。在本研究中，响应PA-07-318“职业安全与健康研究（R01）”，我们将开发并现场测试一种新型液体基生物气溶胶采样器，具有非常高的浓度率（高于100万），同时具有低功率要求。在这个采样器中，空气中的颗粒被带电，然后沉积在超疏水表面上，通过小至105l的液滴将其除去。然后，这些液滴可以通过多种技术进行分析，例如聚合酶链反应来检测生物气溶胶的存在。探索性研究表明了该方法的可行性。在这个项目中，研究人员将改进新型采样器的组件，特别是粒子充电器，并将准备一个可现场部署的采样系统，该系统将在现场对领先的生物气溶胶采样器进行广泛的测试。新采样器的非常高的浓度率将允许检测即使是低浓度的微生物暴露——这是目前采样器所缺乏的一个特征——从而提高我们识别暴露风险和保护受影响人群的能力。该提案回应了NORA的几个优先研究议程：国家农业、林业和渔业；国家服务;全国运输、仓储和公用事业。一旦开发成功，这种新颖的采样技术可以与各种“芯片上的实验室”集成，并可能导致空气中微生物污染物的近实时测定。这种先进的检测方法，加上采样器的小尺寸和低功耗要求，使所提出的工具不仅适用于职业和居住环境中的暴露评估，而且适用于国土安全领域。使用静电技术作为粒子收集机制提供了另一个显著的优势，比目前基于惯性的采样器：能够收集空气中的病毒和纳米颗粒。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Advanced Sampler for Measuring Exposure to Biological Aerosols To improve assessment of exposures to airborne microorganisms, and to protect the populations and resources at risk from such exposures, advanced bioaerosol detection and sensing systems are needed. In this research, responding to PA-07-318 "Occupational Safety and Health Research (R01)", we will develop and field-test a novel liquid-based bioaerosol sampler featuring very high concentration rates (higher than 1 million) while having low power requirements. In this sampler, the airborne particles are electrically charged and then deposited on a superhydrophobic surface from which they are removed by liquid droplets as small as 10 5L. The droplets can then be analyzed by a variety of techniques, such as polymerase chain reaction to detect the presence of biological aerosols. The feasibility of this approach has been shown in the exploratory research. In this project, the researchers will improve the novel sampler's components, especially the particle charger, and will prepare a field-deployable sampling system which will be extensively tested in the field against leading bioaerosol samplers. Very high concentration rates of the new sampler will allow detecting exposures to even low microorganism concentrations - a feature lacking in current samplers - thus improving our ability to identify the exposure risks and protect affected populations. This proposal responds to several NORA's Priority Research Agendas: National Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing; National Services; National Transportation, Warehousing, and Utilities. Upon successful development, this novel sampling technology could be integrated with various "laboratories on a chip" and may lead to near real-time determination of airborne microbial contaminants. Such advanced detection method, plus sampler's small size and low power requirements would make the proposed tool suitable for numerous applications not only for exposure assessment in occupational and residential environments, but also in Homeland security area. Use of electrostatic technique as a particle collection mechanism offers another significant advantage over current inertia- based samplers: ability to collect airborne viruses and nanoparticles. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: In this project, a novel tool to estimate exposures to biological aerosols, especially to their low concentrations, will be developed and extensively tested in the field against leading technologies. This novel bioaerosol sampler will have very high concentration rate allowing to substantially improve our ability to detect airborne biological hazards in many occupational environments. It will allow us to better understand workers' exposures and related health effects and to implement protective measures more effectively.