Online monitoring system for qualitative and quantitative analysis of bioaerosols by combined ATP bioluminescence assay with loop-mediated isothermal amplification.

ABSTRACT

Rapid detection of airborne pathogens is crucial in preventing respiratory infections and allergies. However, technologies aiming to real-time analysis of microorganisms in air remain limited due to the sparse and complex nature of bioaerosols. Here, we introduced an online bioaerosol monitoring system (OBMS) comprised of integrated units including a rotatable stainless-steel sintered filter-based sampler, a lysis unit for extracting adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and a single photon detector-based fluorescence unit. Through optimization of the ATP bioluminescence method and establishment of standard curves between relative luminescence units (RLUs) and ATP as well as microbial concentration, we achieved simultaneous detection of bioaerosols' concentration and activity. Testing OBMS with four bacterial and two fungal aerosols at a sampling flow rate of 10 to 50 L/min revealed an outstanding collection efficiency of 95 % at 30 L/min. A single OBMS measurement takes only 8 min (sampling 5 min; lysis and detection 3 min) with detection limits of 3 Pcs/ms photons (2.9 × 103 and 292 CFU/m3 for Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans aerosol). In both laboratory and field tests, OBMS detected higher concentrations of bioaerosol compared to the traditional Andersen impactor and liquid biosampler. When combined OBMS with loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), the bioaerosol can be qualitative and quantitative analyzed within 40 min without the cumbersome procedures of sample pretreatment and DNA extraction. These results offer a high compressive and humidity resistance membrane filtration sampler and validate the potential of OBMS for online measurement of bioaerosol concentration and composition.