Efficient Viral Capture and Inactivation from Bioaerosols Using Electrostatic Precipitation.

The presence of infectious viral particles in bioaerosols generated during laparoscopic surgery places surgical staff at significant risk of infection and represents a major cause of nosocomial infection. These factors contributed to the postponement and cancellation of countless surgical procedures during the early stages of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, causing backlogs, increased waiting times for surgical procedures and excess deaths indirectly related to the pandemic. The development and implementation of devices that effectively inactivate viral particles from bioaerosols would be beneficial in limiting or preventing the spread of infections from such bioaerosols. Here, we sought to evaluate whether electrostatic precipitation (EP) is a viable means to capture and inactivate both non-enveloped (Adenovirus) and enveloped (SARS-CoV-2 Pseudotyped Lentivirus) viral particles present in bioaerosols. We developed a closed-system model to mimic the release of bioaerosols during laparoscopic surgery. Known concentrations of each virus were aerosolised into the model system, exposed to EP using a commercially available system (UltravisionTM, Alesi Surgical Limited, UK) and collected in a BioSampler for analysis. Using qPCR to quantify viral genomes and transduction assays to quantify biological activity, we show that both enveloped and non-enveloped viral particles were efficiently captured and inactivated by EP. Both capture and inactivation could be further enhanced when increasing the voltage to 10kV, or when using two Ultravision discharge electrodes together at 8kV. This study highlights EP as an efficient means for capturing and inactivating viral particles present in bioaerosols. The use of EP may limit the spread of diseases, reducing nosocomial infections and potentially enable the continuation of surgical procedures during periods of viral pandemics. HighlightsO_LIBioaerosols released from patients during surgery have the potential to facilitate viral spread. C_LIO_LIUltravision technology works via the process of electrostatic precipitation. C_LIO_LIElectrostatic precipitation can be manipulated to capture and inactivate aerosolised viral particles, preventing viral spread. C_LIO_LIElectrostatic precipitation is effective against both enveloped and non-enveloped viral particles. C_LIO_LIElectrostatic precipitation represents a viable means to reduce nosocomial infections. C_LI Graphical Abstract O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=99 SRC="FIGDIR/small/529105v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (17K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@4b7fb1org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@ac6edaorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@a1ea28org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@13f6c7_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG