Evaluation of Impingement and Filtration Methods for Yeast Bioaerosol Sampling

Abstract

Yeast was one of the most prevalent groups isolated from field fungal samples. To provide a quantitative basis for determining the airborne yeast concentration, the bioefficiency of three sampling methods as well as the effects of relative humidity, sampling time, and flow rates were evaluated. The experiments were performed on the basis of total recovery, which was the ratio of CFU concentration and total particle concentration measured by an aerodynamic particle sizer. The bioefficiency results demonstrated that the total recovery of airborne yeast collected by the AGI-30 impinger was above 80% at 70% relative humidity, while it decreased rapidly as relative humidity decreased beneath 60%. This might be related to undergoing desiccation and losing culturability before collection for yeast cells following bioaerosol generation from liquid suspension. The filtration outcome indicated that dehydration effects were significant and total recovery was < 20% for Nuclepore and gelatin filters. In addition, no s...