Mitigating the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in clinical settings and public spaces is critically important to reduce the number of COVID-19 cases while effective vaccines and therapeutics are under development. SARS-CoV-2 transmission is thought to primarily occur through direct person-to-person transfer of infectious respiratory droplets or through aerosol-generating medical procedures. However, contact with contaminated surfaces may also play a significant role. In this context, understanding the factors contributing to SARS-CoV-2 persistence on surfaces will enable a more accurate estimation of the risk of contact transmission and inform mitigation strategies. To this end, we have developed a simple mathematical model that can be used to estimate virus decay on nonporous surfaces under a range of conditions and which may be utilized operationally to identify indoor environments in which the virus is most persistent.

To assess the risk of aerosol transmission of SARS-CoV-2, measurements of the airborne viral concentrations in proximity to infected individuals, the persistence of the virus in aerosols, and the dose of the virus needed to cause infection following inhalation are required. For studies aimed at quantifying these parameters, an aerosol sampling device needs to be employed. A number of recent studies have reported the detection of both genetic material and infectious SARS-CoV-2 virus in air samples collected in clinical settings. Previous studies have demonstrated that the efficiency of different samplers for collection and preservation of the infectivity of microorganisms can vary as a function of the specific microorganism. In the present study, the performance of eight common low-flow aerosol sampling devices were compared for their ability to collect and preserve the infectivity of airborne SARS-CoV-2 contained in small particle aerosols. The influence of sampling duration on recovery of infectious virus was also evaluated. Similar concentrations of infectious SARS-CoV-2 were measured in aerosols for the majority of the samplers tested, with the exception of the midget impingers, which measured significantly lower concentrations of SARS-CoV-2. Additionally, in three of the four impingers tested, additional clean airflow through the device following collection of infectious virus resulted in a decrease of the infectious concentration of virus over time, suggesting that virus was being inactivated and these devices may not be suitable for sampling for long durations. Further, RNA copies in the samples over time did not correspond with the losses of infectious SARS-CoV-2 observed in the impingers samples. These data can be utilized to inform interpretation of current studies on the SARS-CoV-2 viral loads in air samples, as well as inform sampling device selection in future studies.

Laboratory Study of Bioaerosols: Traditional Test Systems, Modern Approaches, and Environmental Control. Aerosol Science and Technology. Accepted 8 November 2019.

The effects of ozone and relative humidity (RH) at common atmospheric levels on the properties of single octapeptide bioaerosol particles were studied using an improved rotating reaction chamber, an aerosol generator, an ultraviolet aerodynamic particle sizer (UVAPS), an improved single particle fluorescence spectrometer (SPFS), and equipments to generate, monitor and control the ozone and RH. Aerosol particles (mean diameter ~2μm) were generated from a slurry of octapeptide in phosphate buffered saline, injected into the rotating chamber, and kept airborne for hours. Bioaerosols were sampled from the chamber hourly for the measurements of particle-size distribution, concentration, total fluorescence excited at 355-nm, and single particle fluorescence spectra excited at 266-nm and 351-nm under different controlled RH (20%, 50%, or 80%) and ozone concentration (0 or 150ppb). The results show that: (1) Particle size, concentration, and the 263-nm-excited fluorescence intensity decrease at different rates under different combinations of the RH and ozone concentrations used. (2) The 263-nm-excited UV fluorescence (280–400nm) decreased more rapidly than the 263-nm-excited visible fluorescence (400–560nm), and decreased most rapidly when ozone is present and RH is high. (3) The UV fluorescence peak near 340nm slightly shifts to the shorter wavelength (blue-shift), consistent with a more rapid oxidation of tryptophan than tyrosine. (4) The 351/355-nm-excited fluorescence (430–580nm/380–700nm) increases when ozone is present, especially when the RH is high. (5) The 351/355-nm-excited fluorescence increase that occurs as the tryptophan emission in the UV decreases, and the observation that these changes occur more rapidly at higher RH with the present of ozone, are consistent with the oxidation of tryptophan by ozone and the conversion of the resulting ozonides to N-formyl kynurenine and kynurenine

A laboratory system for exposing aerosol particles to ozone and rapidly measuring the subsequent changes in their single-particle fluorescence is reported. The system consists of a rotating drum chamber and a single-particle fluorescence spectrometer (SPFS) utilizing excitation at 263 nm. Measurements made with this system show preliminary results on the ultra-violet laser-induced-fluorescence (UV-LIF) spectra of single aerosolized particles of Yersinia rohdei, and of MS2 (bacteriophage) exposed to ozone. When bioparticles are exposed in the chamber the fluorescence emission peak around 330 nm: i) decreases in intensity relative to that of the 400-550 nm band; and ii) shifts slightly toward shorter-wavelengths (consistent with further drying of the particles). In these experiments, changes were observed at exposures below the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) limits for ozone

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