COVID-19: High Efficiency SARS-CoV-2 Virus Aerosol Sampling and Sensing

As the current COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated, aerosolized pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2 can spread explosively if not quickly detected. Early detection of these airborne pathogens can help control out- breaks, particularly within vulnerable populations in densely populated spaces including assisted living facili- ties, places of worship, military installations, hospitals, and prisons. To date, most studies of aerosolized SARS-CoV-2 use filter collection followed by laboratory analysis of viral RNA. While this gives a general indica- tion of viral RNA levels in an environment, filters collect both infectious and non-infectious viruses and damage them through mechanical stress and desiccation, making it difficult to determine the infective fraction of the col- lected viruses. Further, current filter analysis methods require time-consuming nucleic acid extraction and am- plification techniques not suitable to rapid, point-of-care monitoring. Therefore, there is an urgent need for in- struments that can detect intact viruses at the point-of-care. We propose to develop a sensitive, direct reading, bioaerosol detection platform that can quantify specific air- borne pathogens at the point of collection. Furthermore, if a positive result is identified, the sample can be taken to a central laboratory for additional molecular analysis and infectivity testing. This device will integrate the bioaerosol collection technology developed at Aerosol Devices Inc. (ADev) with virus detection technology from Colorado State University (CSU). Using gentle condensation-growth capture that mimics the human lung, the ADev sampler will be the front-end of the platform, concentrating intact, viable virus particles into a small liquid volume. With >90% collection efficiency for particle sizes 5 µm), smaller particles exhaled during breathing or talking (