Design, Development and Analysis of Air Mycoflora Using Fixed Wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)

Abstract

The vertical distribution of fungal spores in the atmosphere reveals their spread in surrounding area and the knowledge on their presence is necessary. There is no cost effective technology or methodology to monitor the spread of mycoflora at the specified height in the atmosphere. In such cases, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are widely used. In this study, UAV developed with electrical propulsion system is used to monitor the mycoflora. Computational fluid dynamic (CFD) analysis was carried to optimize the position of the sampler in UAV. The flight was used to sample four different sites at the height of 5 m to 20 m for the time period of 5 minutes each. Zefon 3-celled cassette containing mixed cellulose ester (MCE) membrane was used for sampling. The exposed filters were analyzed by swabbing on the surface of petridishes containing potato dextrose agar (PDA). The growing colonies were identified and recorded after 4-5 days time interval of incubation at 30±2°C. A total of 13 different species classified in 7 different genera were isolated. Among the species, Aspergillus was represented with maximum number (4) of species, followed by Curvularia, Drechslera and Penicillium (2 species each). Difference in number of species and colonies were recorded in respective sampling sites. The study favors the application of cost effective UAV in monitoring mycoflora from the atmosphere, specifically to monitor vertical distribution of fungi and in hazardous environment where human exposure can be avoided.