Development of Three-Stage Bioaerosol Sampler for Size-Selective Sampling

Jun-Hyung Lim; Sang Hwan Nam; Jongwoo Kim; Nam Hoon Kim; Gun-Soo Park; Jin-Soo Maeng; Se-Jin Yook

doi:10.1115/1.4053504

Development of Three-Stage Bioaerosol Sampler for Size-Selective Sampling

J Biomech Eng. 2022 Jul 1;144(7):071008. doi: 10.1115/1.4053504.

Authors

Jun-Hyung Lim¹, Sang Hwan Nam², Jongwoo Kim², Nam Hoon Kim², Gun-Soo Park³, Jin-Soo Maeng³, Se-Jin Yook¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Mechanical Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, South Korea.
² Center for Convergent Research of Emerging Virus Infection, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, Yuseong, Daejeon 34114, South Korea.
³ Center for Convergent Research of Emerging Virus Infection, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, Yuseong, Daejeon 34114, South Korea; Research Group of Food Processing, Korea Food Research Institute, Wanju, Jeonbuk 55365, South Korea.

PMID: 35013744
DOI: 10.1115/1.4053504

Abstract

In this study, a three-stage bio-aerosol sampler with a sampling flow rate of 170 L/min was designed and fabricated for sampling the bio-aerosols released during human breathing and coughing, and its performance was evaluated. The sampler was constructed using a cyclone separator with a cutoff size of 2.5 μm as a preseparator, a multinozzle virtual impactor with a cutoff size of 0.34 μm as an aerosol concentrator, and a Bio-Sampler, which is a commercial product, for collecting bio-aerosols in a collection fluid. The collection efficiency of the sampler was evaluated through simulations and experiments. Only particles with sizes of 0.1-4 μm were selectively collected in the collection fluid. Bacteriophage bio-aerosols were sampled using the developed sampler and ACD-200 Bobcat sampler, which is a commercial product. The amounts of collected bacteriophages were compared using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique. The sampling performance of the developed sampler was similar to that of the ACD-200 Bobcat sampler. Moreover, the developed sampler showed its ability to sample bio-aerosols of a specific size range and collect them directly in a collection fluid for the PCR analysis. Therefore, the developed sampler is expected to be useful for indoor environmental monitoring by effectively sampling the bio-aerosols released indoors during human breathing and coughing.

Keywords: BioSampler; bioaerosol; collection efficiency; cyclone separator; virtual impactor.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Aerosols / analysis
Environmental Monitoring* / methods
Humans
Particle Size
Specimen Handling* / methods

Substances

Aerosols