title: Efficient collection of viable virus aerosol through laminar-flow, water-based condensational particle growth.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  State-of-the-art bioaerosol samplers have poor collection efficiencies for ultrafine virus aerosols. This work evaluated the performance of a novel growth tube collector (GTC), which utilizes laminar-flow water-based condensation to facilitate particle growth, for the collection of airborne MS2 viruses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fine aerosols (<500 nm) containing MS2 coliphage were generated from a Collison nebulizer, conditioned by a dilution dryer and collected by a GTC and a BioSampler. The GTC effectively condensed water vapour onto the virus particles, creating droplets 2-5 μm in diameter, which facilitated collection. Comparison of particle counts upstream and downstream revealed that the GTC collected >93% of the inlet virus particles, whereas the BioSampler's efficiency was about 10%. Viable counts of the GTC-collected viruses were also one order of magnitude higher than those of the BioSampler (P = 0·003).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The efficiency of the GTC for the viable collection of MS2 viruses exceeds that of industry standard instrument, the BioSampler, by a factor of 10-100.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study reveals that the GTC is an effective collector of viable MS2 aerosols, and concludes the instrument will be an effective tool for studying viable virus aerosols and the inhalation risks posed by airborne viruses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences, Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: Aerosol Dynamics Inc., Berkeley, CA, USA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Eiguren-Fernandez
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Cell Science, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hsieh
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences, Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.|Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Afshar-Mohajer
authors.affiliation: Aerosol Dynamics Inc., Berkeley, CA, USA.
authors.forename: S V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Hering
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental and Global Health, and Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lednicky
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Hugh Fan
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences, Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
authors.forename: C-Y
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D000336:Aerosols / Q000737:chemistry*; D000391:Air Microbiology; D017909:Levivirus / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D010316:Particle Size; D014773:Virology / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D000336:Aerosols
keywords: amplification; bacteriophage MS2; collection efficiency; infectious viruses; viability