Joachim Pleil at the 2020 Breath Biopsy Conference
KEYNOTE (45 min) - Exhaled breath aerosols: Thoughts on sampling, analysis and safety in the era of COVID-19
The 2021 Breath Biopsy Conference is scheduled for 12th & 13th October. Click the button to express interest in the next Breath Biopsy Conference:
Talk Abstract:
Unlike blood and urine, breath is an invisible biological medium; adult humans exhale about 16 cubic meters of breath a day into their environment without a second thought. This is enough to fill a typical (small) academic office. Most of the breath is gaseous, but a small fraction is in aerosol form. In the emerging era of COVID-19, this aerosol fraction has become a critical factor in the investigation of the spread of SARS-CoV-2 viral particles. Breath can no longer just be “thrown away” into the surroundings where others may inhale the aerosols, or touch surfaces where aerosol may have settled. Public health safety now requires facial coverings, frequent hand washing, and surface disinfection. This newly invigorated attention to breath aerosol as a disease vector presents opportunities for systems biology research in sampling and analysis, but equally represents new burdens for laboratory and clinical safety. Protective masks and other facial coverings provide a prevalent source of exhaled aerosol samples. This concept predates the COVID-19 era as masks and respirators have been used to assess exposures to environmental contaminants and to assess preclinical cancer health state. However, the use and safety of aerosols samples has taken on a new level of urgency. Journal of Breath Research has recently published a few articles and editorials dealing with these topics; this presentation presents some of the current thoughts and recommendations on sampling and analysis of aerosols in the era of a global pandemic.
Joachim D. Pleil1, Jonathan D. Beauchamp2, Raed A. Dweik2, and Terence H. Risby2
1 Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Breath Research
2 Associate Editor, Journal of Breath Research
Speaker Biography:
Joachim Pleil has recently retired from US Environmental Protection Agency after 32 years as a research scientist focusing on human systems biology of exposure. He is an adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina, School of Public Health, Chapel Hill, NC, US where he teaches ENVR 640 “Environmental Exposure Assessment”. He holds BS degrees in Physics and Mathematics, MS degree in Physics, and PhD in Environmental Sciences and Engineering. He has published over 150 journal articles, many involving breath biomarker research and statistical interpretation of breath-based data, and is co-editor of the recent Elsevier book “Breathborne Biomarkers and the Human Volatilome”. He currently serves as editor-in-chief of the Institute of Physics Journal of Breath Research, consults with US NASA projects on jetfighter pilot breathing assessment and International Space Station air quality, and is a founding member of the International Association of Breath Research (IABR).
The 2021 Breath Biopsy Conference is scheduled for 12th & 13th October. Click the button to express interest in the next Breath Biopsy Conference: