Aeromicrobiology

Lab 7
 Introduction
Definition: the study of the aerosolization, aerial
transmission, and deposition of biological
materials.

or

The study of indoor and outdoor microbes as they

relate to the airborne transmission of
environmentally relevant microorganisms
including viruses, bacteria, fungi, yeast and
protozoans.
 IMPORTANCE
• Scientific fields such as public health, agriculture, and
biological.
• Public health
• Important airborne pathogens and disease related to
them
• Effect on human respiratory system. Ie. Rhinovirus
which cause common colds

Agriculture
• plant disease - fungi such as wheat rust
• Effect on animals- Foot and mouth disease
 Airborne pathogens
• Numerous plant pathogens are spread by the AMB
pathway
 Aeromicrobiological pathway
• describe the launching of bioaerosols into the air, the
subsequent transport via diffusion and dispersion of
these particles, and finally their deposition.

• Eg. Liquid aerosols containing the influenza virus

launched into the air through a cough, sneeze or talking.
• Pathway:
Virus dispersed by cough (launching)----air------inhaled
(transport)-----deposited in lung (deposition)---- cause
infection
 Gravitational settling
- The action of gravity on particles
- Steady gravitational deposition in the absence of air can be
described using Stokes Law

V=pd2g/18n (cm/sec)
p= particle density (g/cm3)
d= the particle diameter (cm)
g= the acceleration due to gravity (cm/sec2)-981 cm/sec2
n= the viscosity of air (g/cm-sec)- 1.8X10-4 cm/sec2

- Larger particles will obtain higher terminal velocities and thus settle
out of the AMB pathway faster.
 Downward Molecular Diffusion
- Randomly occurring process by natural air currents and eddies that
promote and enhance the downward movement of airborne
particles.

- The random movement exist even in still air

- Molecular diffusion is also influenced by the force of the wind

- Molecular diffusion enhanced deposition rates tend to increase with

increasing wind speed and turbulence.
 Surface Impaction
- The process by which particles make contact with surfaces such as
leaves, trees, walls and computers.

- It does not necessarily result in permanent deposition. May bounce

off the surface and reenter the air but move at a slower rate.

- The process is influenced by the velocity and size of the particles as

well as the size and shape of the surface it is approaching.

- Larger particles have a higher impaction potential.

 Rain Deposition
- Rainfall deposition occurs as a condensation reaction between two
particles which combine and create a bioaerosol with a greater
mass, which settles faster.

- The overall efficiency of rain deposition also depends on the spread

area of the plume, the intensity of rain

- Larger more diffuse plume undergo stronger impaction than smaller

more concentrated plumes.

- The heavier the rain the greater the overall rates and numbers of
condensation actions and the greater the subsequent increase in
rain deposition.
 AGI 30 Impinger
•Features:
– Run at a flow rate of 12.5L/min. at a height of
1.5m which is the average breathing height for
humans
– It is efficient for particles in the range of 0.8-
15µm
– Sampling volume is 20ml and time 20 mins.
– Liquid and suspended microorganisms can be
concentrated or diluted, depending on the
requirements for analysis
 

How does it work?

•draws in air through an inlet shaped like the nasal
passage.
•The air is transmitted through a liquid medium where
the air particles become associated with the fluid and
are subsequently trapped.
 Andersen Impaction Sampler
– is an ingenious device for selectively trapping different sizes of particles according to their size
(momentum).
• Features:
– This sampler consists of a stack of 8 metal sections that fit together with ring seals to form an
air-tight cylinder.
– Each metal section has a perforated base and the number of perforations is the same in each
section, but the size of these perforations is progressively reduced from the top of the column
to the bottom.
• How does it work?
– open agar plates are placed between each metal section, resting on three studs.
– When fully assembled with an electric motor sucks air from the bottom of the unit, causing
spore-laden air to enter at the top and to pass down through the cylinder.
– Air sucked in at the top of the column travels at relatively low speed towards the first agar
plate, and so only the largest particles impact onto the agar surface. The air then travels round
the edge of the agar plate and through the perforations to the second agar plate, and so on. As
this process continues down the stack, the same volume of air is forced to travel through
successively smaller perforations, and so the air speed is progressively increased. The
progressively increased air speed lower down the column raises the momentum of the air-
borne particles, so that even the very smallest particles (less than 3 micrometres diaeter) can
impact onto the lower agar plates.

– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxLoqO8jL4I
Andersen Impaction Sampler
 The Rotorod Sampler
•Features:
• It consists of a U-shaped metal rod attached by a spindle to a battery-powered electric
motor.
•The motor causes the upright arms of the metal rod to rotate at high speed.
• 
•How it work.
• To use the sampler, the upright arms are covered with narrow strips of sticky tape, so
that any spores in the air will impact onto the tapes. Then the tapes are removed and
examined microscopically to identify the spores and other particles such as pollen grains
in the air.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qobfzn5sW3g
 The Burkard Spore trap
• acts on the same principle as the rotorod sampler, but is used to give a continuous
record of particles in the air over a period of 24 hours or up to 7 days.
• Features:
• The apparatus consists of an air-sealed drum that contains a clockwork rotating disc
which makes a single revolution in 7 days.
• How does it work?
• The surface of this disc is covered with adhesive tape, to trap spores that impact onto
it.
• When the apparatus is assembled, air is sucked into the drum at high speed through
a slit orifice by means of a motor at the base of the apparatus. Any particles in the air
impact onto the sticky tape near the slit orifice, giving a record of the particles in the
atmosphere at a specific time of day
• At the end of a 7-day run, the tape is removed, cut into sections representing hourly
or daily periods, then examined microscopically.
• The Burkard spore trap is commonly used for continuous monitoring of spore or
pollen loads in the air. For example, these traps are commonly sited on hospital roofs,
meteorological stations, and other public buildings, and provide public information
through TV and radio broadcasts.
Burkard Spore Trap
• Materials/Equipment: Each student will
make 8 small cups of General Purpose
medium as shown in the video on Moodle
page. (Plain Jello made with 4 packs of
Gelatin powder and 1 cup water of hot
water and stored in fridge), 1tsp consome
de pollo/res, 1 tsp of corn starch melted in
tap water, Labels, Timer/Stopwatch,
Incubator (inside microwave or oven).
 Procedures
• Choose three test sites in your house (kitchen, living room, bath room, bed
room).
• 2. Remove the covers from 6 plates simultaneously. Keep 2 plates without
opening as control (o minutes)
• 3. After 20 min cover 2 of your plates.
• 4. After 40 minutes cover next 2 your plates.
• 5. After 60 minutes cover the remaining 2 of your plates.
• 6. Label the bottom Plates with their respective time periods they were
exposed.
• 7. Place the plates in an incubator (inside a microwave or a shelf) for a
duration of 36 hours at a cool place (around 25 °C).
• 8. Inspect and manually count the number of colonies of bacteria cultured.
Please note colony morphology and other features (such as bacteria versus
fungi) which should be included in your discussions. Email your data to your
lecturer which will be complied posted on Moodle. Take pictures of your
plates before and after your experiment as evidence. Attach your pictures to
the submission
1. Graph-
x axis –location, y axis microbial colonies (CFU)/time period - bar graph

2. Graph x –axis : time , y axis-microbial col (CFU) –line graph

Average CFUs deposited at various location in the home

10 20 30

location 0min 10mins 20min 30mins

kitchen 0 2, 6, 5 9, 10, 15 13, 21, 16
bathroom 0 10, 12, 12 20, 20, 30 30, 33, 31
varandah 0 2, 4, 2 3, 5, 4 6, 8, 6