Ricerc@Sapienza

Legionella spp. is a ubiquitous intracellular microorganism in aquatic environments both natural and artificial. Although Legionella pneumophila sg 1 and sg 6 are the main causes of disease, other species have recently been associated with cases of legionellosis. Since 2000, some international documents related to the control and prevention of Legionnaires’ disease have been issued, providing different environmental matrices’ sampling, but not for air. To date, the control on water mains is preferred; however, air sampling could be a useful tool for exposure evaluation.

The metaproteomic analysis of air particulate matter provides valuable information about the properties of bioaerosols in the atmosphere and their influence on climate and public health. In this work, a new method for the extraction and analysis of proteins in airborne particulate matter from quartz microfiber filters was developed. Different protein extraction procedures were tested to select the best extraction protocol based on protein recovery.

Le caratteristiche chimiche, morfologiche e dimensionali del PM indoor sono molto meno note di quelle relative agli ambienti esterni, benché l’influenza di questa classe di inquinanti sulla salute dei cittadini possa essere anche più importante di quella attribuibile al PM outdoor, dato il maggior numero di ore che noi tutti trascorriamo negli ambienti confinati.

This work is part of an extensive research project aimed at the determination and characterization of bioaerosol with a
multidisciplinary approach. In this context, one of the main objectives of the project has been the development of a
comprehensive analytical method for the determination of different chemical biomarkers of the bioaerosol, by liquid
chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. The following biomarkers have been considered, and
correlated to specific components of bioaerosol as unambiguous indicators: • ergosterol fungal components •

The lack of information on biological risks in workplaces arises from the difficulty to measure bioaerosol. This study aimed to develop and improve the bioaerosol monitoring technique that uses proper biomarkers as a tool. Muramic and dipicolinic acids, and ergosterol were used as tracers for bacteria cells, bacterial spores, and fungal spores, respectively. Furthermore, 12- and 13- methyltetradecanoic acids (iso- and anteiso- C15:0) were used to study the presence of airborne bacteria and 3-hydroxy fatty acids were used to determine the concentration of peptidoglycan.

Airborne bacteria are components of the atmospheric aerosol particles and can be responsible of allergic disease, regardless of their viability. In this paper, we report a method for the determination of total (viable and nonviable) bacterial content in airborne particles, using muramic and dipicolinic acids as biomarkers of bacteria and bacterial spores, respectively. The analytical procedure was optimized with bacteria and spores of Bacillus subtilis.