| Summary: |
Bioaerosol-related allergies are elicited by airborne pollen and fungal spores, undeniably related to environmental exposure.
As prevention of these bioaerosol emissions is especially difficult, successful avoidance strategies are a way to prevent adverse health effects. Monitoring airborne pollen and fungal spores is one of the most important sources of information to do so, but it relies on static samplers at rooftop levels, representing background concentration levels. However, people suffering from allergies are sensitised at the streetscape level, where microscale momentary concentration variations occur that are not detected by rooftop monitoring. Concomitantly, one critical challenge of bioaerosol-related allergies is quantifying the effective allergen loads that sensitised individuals are exposed to, and the whole pollen/spore counts do not always represent the actual concentration of the allergenic epitopes in the air.
So, we still lack quantifiable knowledge on individual exposure loads and variability and human biomonitoring of pollen and fungal spores exposure could be a solution allowing a thorough evaluation.
BIOREAL aims to explore a new research paradigm by developing a proof-of-concept for allergenic bioaerosol (pollen and fungal spores) quantification and allergen detection at the breathing level targeting human exposure assessment. A new disruptive strategy will be tested by upgrading the sampling and quantification to a dynamic approach at human inhalant levels. Implementing an innovative methodology combining mobile methods with biosensing technology for allergen detection and quantification will revolutionise the available bioaerosol information, offering further insights towards human bioexpossome description. The outcomes of this project will open research opportunities, not only health-connected but also in biosensing technology towards bioaerosol detection.
The project research team includes highly motivated experts with transdisci  |
Summary
Bioaerosol-related allergies are elicited by airborne pollen and fungal spores, undeniably related to environmental exposure.
As prevention of these bioaerosol emissions is especially difficult, successful avoidance strategies are a way to prevent adverse health effects. Monitoring airborne pollen and fungal spores is one of the most important sources of information to do so, but it relies on static samplers at rooftop levels, representing background concentration levels. However, people suffering from allergies are sensitised at the streetscape level, where microscale momentary concentration variations occur that are not detected by rooftop monitoring. Concomitantly, one critical challenge of bioaerosol-related allergies is quantifying the effective allergen loads that sensitised individuals are exposed to, and the whole pollen/spore counts do not always represent the actual concentration of the allergenic epitopes in the air.
So, we still lack quantifiable knowledge on individual exposure loads and variability and human biomonitoring of pollen and fungal spores exposure could be a solution allowing a thorough evaluation.
BIOREAL aims to explore a new research paradigm by developing a proof-of-concept for allergenic bioaerosol (pollen and fungal spores) quantification and allergen detection at the breathing level targeting human exposure assessment. A new disruptive strategy will be tested by upgrading the sampling and quantification to a dynamic approach at human inhalant levels. Implementing an innovative methodology combining mobile methods with biosensing technology for allergen detection and quantification will revolutionise the available bioaerosol information, offering further insights towards human bioexpossome description. The outcomes of this project will open research opportunities, not only health-connected but also in biosensing technology towards bioaerosol detection.
The project research team includes highly motivated experts with transdisciplinary experience in aerobiology, analytical chemistry and electrochemistry, immunoallergology, and data science. The project PI has strong collaborations with international research networks that scientifically support the proposed project.
The project will focus on the optimisation of commercial filter-integrated individual particle samplers that allow daily filter gravimetric reference sampling, which will be used to quantify pollen/fungal spores and their allergens at streetscape inhalable levels.
A field campaign will involve allergy-suffer volunteer students and staff from FCUP carrying these samplers throughout their daily activities, concomitantly recording their allergic symptoms in a voice notebook app and at the end of each day in a daily control questionnaire (CARAT). The filters will be replaced daily by the volunteers and delivered to FCUP. Afterwards, they will undergo chemical treatment first for allergen extraction and then further processed for pollen and fungal spore identification and quantification.
Advanced biosensing technologies (electrochemical immunosensing method and fluorescence sensing semiconductors) will be explored. New biosensors specifically tailored for bioaerosol allergen detection and quantification will be developed, calibrated to worldwide allergens of most concern present in Porto: Pla a 1 of Platanus, Groups 5 of Poaceae and Alt a 1 of Alternaria fungal spore.
Additionally, it is intended to perform a tentative modelling of the relationship between allergenic bioaerosol potential, allergy symptoms and daily meteorological information.
The BIOREAL exploratory project will establish methodological aspects crucial for future research prospects aiming at sampling and quantifying bioaerosol-related allergenic loads at the individual exposure level. These will benefit many end-users, such as healthcare professionals, allergy sufferers, urban planners, and administration officers, contributing to better management of allergy-related health problems and costs, empowering patients' decision-making with personalised information that will certainly promote their health and well-being and by helping urban green planners implementing strategies to improve bioaerosol-related air quality.
Also, it will contribute to advancing biosensing technology, setting the grounds for the future development of timely and cost-effective immuno- based sensors for airborne allergenic pollen and fungal spores.
Finally, it will strengthen the international scientific community efforts towards implementing legislation for the systematic detection of allergenic Bioaerosols. |