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

Details

• Personal Author:
  Han TT ; Mainelis G
• Description:
  Exposure to airborne biological agents, especially to pathogenic or allergenic microorganisms, is known to cause a wide range of health disorders in occupational and general populations. In order to improve exposure assessment of potentially affected populations, in this work, we explored a concept of a new personal bioaerosol sampling device that features high physical and biological performance when collecting airborne biological agents. The end result of this exploratory project is a developed working prototype of a personal electrostatic bioaerosol sampler (PEBS) for determining personal exposures to airborne microorganisms. The PEBS prototype is a self-contained device, i.e., there are no external pumps, tubings, and power supplies; the device is battery-powered and can operate for up to 4 hours. PEBS is an open channel collector consisting of a novel wire-to-wire particle charger and a collection section housing a double-sided and removable metal collection plate and two quartercylinder ground electrodes. The airborne microorganisms are drawn into the device, imparted an electrostatic charge and then deposited on the collection plate by the action of electrostatic forces. The captured particles are easily eluted using water or other fluids. The sampler's internal geometry and optimum charging and collection voltages were optimized by a combination of computer simulation and iterative design modifications. When PEBS was tested with polystyrene latex particles ranging from 0.026 um to 3.1 um in diameter and at 10 L/min collection flow rate, its collection efficiency was approximately 70-80% at charging and collection voltages of +5.5 kV and -7 kV, respectively. Due to the novel charger design, PEBS produced very low ozone concentrations (< 10 ppb). In further testing, PEBS was challenged with airborne Bacillus atrophaeus bacterial cells and Penicillium chrysogenum fungal spores when sampling at flowrates of 10 L/min and 20 L/min and sampling times of 10, 60, and 240 min. The collected samples were analyzed using microscopy, adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-based bioluminescence, flow cytometry (Live/Dead test), and culture techniques. PEBS's physical and biological performance was compared against that of an established bioaerosol sampler (BioSampler, SKC Inc., Eighty Four, PA). PEBS achieved physical collection efficiency > 80% at 10 L/min flow rate, and its physical performance in terms of measured bioaerosol concentration was better than that of BioSampler. In addition, the fraction of live microorganisms recovered by PEBS was not different from that of BioSampler. Compared to BioSampler, PEBS measured similar or higher concentrations of culturable bacteria, but lower concentrations of culturable spores. The airborne ATP concentration measured by PEBS was significantly higher than that measured by BioSampler. In the preliminary field testing of the complete sampler prototype, PEBS was tested outdoors when taking 4 hrs air samples alongside BioSampler and Button Aerosol Sampler (both SKC Inc.). The concentrations of culturable organisms, as well as the viable fraction of the microorganisms determined by PEBS, were not different from that of the other two samplers. Overall, the developed PEBS sampler prototype is a viable and efficient technology to determine personal exposures to airborne microorganisms using multiple sample analysis techniques. Future studies will apply this technology for exposure assessment in various occupational and residential environments. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Microbiology Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Airborne Particles Bioaerosols Biological Agents Exposure Assessment Microorganisms Pathogens Samplers Sampling Equipment
• Series:
  Grant Final Reports
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Final Grant Report
• Place as Subject:
  New Jersey ; OSHA Region 2
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  OEP - Office of Extramural Programs
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-59
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20055270
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2019-100828
• Citation:
  Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, R21-OH-010560, 2018 Apr; :1-59
• Contact Point Address:
  Gediminas Mainelis, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Environmental Sciences, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 14 College Farm Road, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901-8551
• Email:
  mainelis@envsci.rutgers.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2018
• Performing Organization:
  Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20140901
• Source Full Name:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• End Date:
  20180131
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:385937b81149eb5c5732f33e9875bfc121c597b6c921a770ac58fb23ba45901b0b52ddea336df7ae4b189aebfea1682af53ec0df3344f6d34ffb69a773ae58ef
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/218842/cdc_218842_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.29 MB ]