Passive Bioaerosol Samplers: A Complementary Tool for Bioaerosol Research. A Review

Bioaerosols consist of airborne particles of biological origin. They play an important role in our environment and may cause negative health effects. The presence of biological aerosol is typically determined using active samplers. While passive bioaerosol samplers are used much less frequently in bioaerosol investigations, they offer certain advantages, such as simple design, low cost, and long sampling duration. This review discusses different types of passive bioaerosol samplers, including their collection mechanisms, advantages and disadvantages, applicability in different sampling environments, and available sample elution and analysis methods. Most passive samplers are based on gravitational settling and electrostatic capture mechanism or their combination. We discuss the agar settle plate, dustfall collector, Personal Aeroallergen Sampler (PAAS), and settling filters among the gravity-based samplers. The described electrostatics-based samplers include electrostatic dust cloths (EDC) and Rutgers Electrostatic Passive Sampler (REPS). In addition, the review also discusses passive opportunity samplers using preexisting airflow, such as filters in HVAC systems. Overall, passive bioaerosol sampling technologies are inexpensive, easy to operate, and can continuously sample for days and even weeks which is not easily accomplished by active sampling devices. Although passive sampling devices are usually treated as qualitative tools, they still provide information about bioaerosol presence and diversity, especially over longer time scales. Overall, this review suggests that the use of passive bioaerosol samplers alongside active collection devices can aid researchers in developing a more comprehensive understanding of biological presence and dynamics, especially over extended time scales and multiple locations.