The Faculty of Chemistry of the University of Valencia is carrying out the collection of air samples to analyse the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the indoor air of two university classrooms, within the AIRCOV project. It is a proposal developed by research staff from the Department of Analytical Chemistry of the institution and the Foundation for the Promotion of Health and Biomedical Research of the Valencian Community (FISABIO) that started yesterday and continues today Tuesday and tomorrow in one of the classrooms of the academic centre. Next week it will continue in another classroom. Investigate the presence of the coronavirus in aerosols and its possible link to air quality.
Although initially the AIRCOV project only foreseen the detection and analysis of aerosols, other biological samples were added to the samples to be analysed, such as saliva from both students and teachers at the centre. The research is carried out in university classrooms of the Faculty of Chemistry of the Burjassot-Paterna Campus of the University of Valencia, where the collection of samples is carried out during the school day.
The research team uses four types of samplers that capture all the particulate matter (aerosols). For each dependency, the different chemical parameters of air quality are also measured, such as CO2, CO, suspended matter, relative humidity, and volatile organic compounds (VOC).
The results of the study will make it possible to formulate management proposals to reduce the possibilities of contagion in indoor public spaces such as university classrooms and primary care centres. The group of researchers is led by Vicent Yusà, Salvador Garrigues and Xavier López-Labrador.
“This project aims to investigate the presence of coronavirus in the indoor air of these centres, to promote a better understanding of transmission by aerosols and establish elements of health management in university teaching and in the safety of primary care centres that help to protect the health of teaching staff, students, patients and health personnel, and reduce the risks of transmission”, says Vicent Yusà, associate professor of the Department of Analytical Chemistry of the University of València and head of the Food Safety Research Area of FISABIO.
In the case of primary care centres, three types of areas have been established for taking samples: areas with the presence of patients; exclusive areas for health personnel; and areas for the general public. The first analyses have been carried out a few weeks ago. Samples have been taken at the beginning of the day (virus-free environment) and at the end of the day.
