human sneeze, pollen) or anthropogenic (e.g. Their study requires an interdisciplinary approach encompassing atmospheric chemistry, microbiology, aerosol microphysics, climate and medical sciences, and an understanding of diverse physical processes including human inhalation, ice nucleation, cloud formation and aerial dispersal. bacteria, viruses, pollen, etc.) and their derivatives (e.g. We demonstrate that this approach can enable direct studies at the interface between aerobiology, atmospheric chemistry and aerosol physics to identify the factors that may affect the survival of airborne pathogens with the aim of developing infection control strategies for public health and biodefence applications.īioaerosols are a suspension of atmospheric particles of biological origin containing living and/or dead organisms (e.g. The time-dependence of the survival rate was measured over a time period extending to 1 h. In a first study, droplets formed from a suspension of Escherichia coli MRE162 cells (10 8 ml −1) with initial radii of 27.8 ± 0.08 µm were created and levitated for extended periods of time at 30% relative humidity. The response of bacteria to aerosolization can subsequently be determined by counting colony forming units, 24 h after deposition.

Droplets are then deposited on a substrate after a desired levitation period (less than 5 s to greater than 24 h). These arrays of droplets are captured in an electrodynamic trap and levitated within a controlled environmental chamber.

The methodology uses droplet-on-demand technology for the generation of bioaerosol droplets (1 to greater than 100 per trial) with tailored chemical and biological composition.

Here, we report a new approach that enables the robust study of bioaerosol survival as a function of relevant environmental conditions. Conventional techniques for investigating bioaerosol longevity in vitro have systemic limitations that prevent the accurate representation of conditions that these particles would experience in the natural environment. Understanding the parameters that determine the survival of airborne microorganisms is critical to mitigating the impact of disease outbreaks. The airborne transmission of infection relies on the ability of pathogens to survive aerosol transport as they transit between hosts.

Airborn novel