A Robot Assisted High-flow Portable Cyclone Sampler for Bacterial and SARS-CoV-2 Aerosols

Airborne transmission of infectious diseases attracts great attention since the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, there has been an intense dispute about aerosol disease, which is largely due to lack qualified instruments for studying subject. Air sampling plays a critical role in all air pollution related study, and particularly airborne pathogen detection. Here, we designed evaluated portable high volume (400 L min–1) cyclone sampler named as Yao-CSpler using aerosolized Polystyrene (PS) uniform microspheres, Bacillus subtilis var. niger, Pseudomonas fluorescens, both indoor outdoor particles. The experimental cutoff size was demonstrated be 0.58 µm (while calculated theoretical value 1.84 µm), shown stable microbial collection performances bacteria, fungi, even viruses. had physical efficiency close 100% particles larger than 1 µm. Jet-to-liquid distance duration were substantially influence performance. Given same duration, significantly higher those traditional BioSampler (SKC Inc.) terms samples’ bacterial diversity. developed coupled with robot successfully applied SARS-CoV-2 Wuhan Beijing during outbreaks. With flow, able collect detectable concentration level down 9–219 viruses m–3 clinical settings housing patients. Further more efficient bioaerosol sampler, rapidly capture low pathogenic agents, urgently required better understand confront diseases.