Cutting-Edge Research on Environmental Processes & Impacts
Subscribers
Non-subscribers
- Purchase article PDF [£27 + taxes]
- Purchase article PDF member offer [£5 + taxes]
Free access
Paper
J. Environ. Monit., 2009, 11, 314 - 317, DOI: 10.1039/b813520g
An optimized method to detect influenza virus and human rhinovirus from exhaled breath and the airborne environment
Patricia Fabian, James Joseph McDevitt, Wai-Ming Lee, Eugene Andres Houseman and Donald Kirby Milton
Respiratory viruses are difficult to characterize in the airborne environment due to their low concentration and the presence of a wide range of inhibitors. As a first step in studying airborne viruses, we optimized molecular biology methods to quantify influenza viruses and human rhinovirus. Quantitative PCR was used as an endpoint to evaluate RNA extraction techniques and reverse transcription protocols. We found that a Trizol-chloroform extraction and MultiScribe
RT increased virus detection 10-fold compared to methods used in published field studies of airborne respiratory viruses. Virus was recovered without inhibition from samples contaminated with up to 50 µg/sample of particulate matter. The methods developed can be used in studies of airborne respiratory viruses.
RSS feed