Versatile filter membrane for effective sampling and real-time quantitative detection of airborne pathogens

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Environmental Science
• Microbiology

Background:

• Detecting airborne pathogens requires efficient air filter membranes for collection and transfer.
• Existing methods face challenges in balancing high removal efficiency with low pressure drop.
• Minimizing damage and loss of captured microorganisms during sample processing is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To construct a hyaluronic acid air filter membrane (HAFM) with tunable micro-nano porous structures.
• To achieve high-performance trapping and collection of airborne pathogens.
• To enable real-time quantitative detection of airborne pathogens with reduced sample processing.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of HAFM using an ethanol-induced phase separation strategy.
• Evaluation of HAFM's performance in trapping airborne pathogens, considering removal efficiency and pressure drop.
• Integration of HAFM with ATP bioluminescence for real-time quantitative detection without sample elution.

Main Results:

• HAFM demonstrated an ideal trade-off between removal efficiency and pressure drop for effective airborne pathogen collection.
• The membrane allowed direct dispersion on agar plates or conversion to an aqueous solution for enrichment, minimizing microorganism damage.
• The HAFM-based ATP assay provided real-time quantitative detection of captured airborne pathogens.

Conclusions:

• The developed HAFM offers a feasible strategy for efficient microbial collection and enrichment from air.
• This approach facilitates non-traumatic transfer of airborne pathogens, enabling accurate bioaerosol concentration evaluation.
• The study provides advanced protocols for real-time field detection of bioaerosols.