Bioaerosol Sampling: Classical Approaches, Advances, and Perspectives

Abstract

Bioaerosol sampling is an essential and integral part of any bioaerosol investigation. Since bioaerosols are very diverse in terms of their sizes, species, biological properties, and requirements for their detection and quantification, bioaerosol sampling is an active, yet challenging research area. This paper was inspired by the discussions during the 2018 International Aerosol Conference (IAC) (St. Louis, MO) regarding the need to summarize the current state of the art in bioaerosol research, including bioaerosol sampling, and the need to develop a more standardized set of guidelines for protocols used in bioaerosol research. The manuscript is a combination of literature review and perspectives: it discusses the main bioaerosol sampling techniques and then overviews the latest technical developments in each area; the overview is followed by the discussion of the emerging trends and developments in the field, including personal sampling, application of passive samplers, and advances toward improving bioaerosol detection limits as well as the emerging challenges such as collection of viruses and collection of unbiased samples for bioaerosol sequencing. The paper also discusses some of the practical aspects of bioaerosol sampling with particular focus on sampling aspects that could lead to bioaerosol determination bias. The manuscript concludes by suggesting several goals for bioaerosol sampling and development community to work towards and describes some of the grand bioaerosol challenges discussed at the IAC 2018.