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Carbohydrate vitrification in aerosolized saliva is associated with the humidity-dependent infectious potential of airborne coronavirus.
Nieto-Caballero, Marina; Davis, Ryan D; Fuques, Eddie; Gomez, Odessa M; Huynh, Erik; Handorean, Alina; Ushijima, Shuichi; Tolbert, Margaret; Hernandez, Mark.
  • Nieto-Caballero M; Environmental Engineering Program, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
  • Davis RD; Department of Chemistry, Trinity University, San Antonio, TX 78212, USA.
  • Fuques E; Materials Reliability Department, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM 82123, USA.
  • Gomez OM; Department of Microbiology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA.
  • Huynh E; Environmental Engineering Program, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
  • Handorean A; Department of Chemistry, Trinity University, San Antonio, TX 78212, USA.
  • Ushijima S; Departments of Engineering Design and Society and Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO 80401, USA.
  • Tolbert M; Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences and Department of Chemistry, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
  • Hernandez M; Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences and Department of Chemistry, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
PNAS Nexus ; 2(2): pgac301, 2023 Feb.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2233791
ABSTRACT
An accepted murine analogue for the environmental behavior of human SARS coronaviruses was aerosolized in microdroplets of its culture media and saliva to observe the decay of its airborne infectious potential under relative humidity (RH) conditions relevant to conditioned indoor air. Contained in a dark, 10 m3 chamber maintained at 22°C, murine hepatitis virus (MHV) was entrained in artificial saliva particles that were aerosolized in size distributions that mimic SARS-CoV-2 virus expelled from infected humans' respiration. As judged by quantitative PCR, more than 95% of the airborne MHV aerosolized was recovered from microdroplets with mean aerodynamic diameters between 0.56 and 5.6 µm. As judged by its half-life, calculated from the median tissue culture infectious dose (TCID50), saliva was protective of airborne murine coronavirus through a RH range recommended for conditioned indoor air (60% < RH < 40%; average half-life = 60 minutes). However, its average half-life doubled to 120 minutes when RH was maintained at 25%. Saliva microaerosol was dominated by carbohydrates, which presented hallmarks of vitrification without efflorescence at low RH. These results suggest that dehydrating carbohydrates can affect the infectious potential coronaviruses exhibit while airborne, significantly extending their persistence under the drier humidity conditions encountered indoors.
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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Type of study: Risk_factors_studies Language: English Journal: PNAS Nexus Year: 2023 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: Pnasnexus

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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Type of study: Risk_factors_studies Language: English Journal: PNAS Nexus Year: 2023 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: Pnasnexus