Wearable Air Sampler Clip Detects COVID-19 Exposure

The American Chemical Society recently published a report in their Environmental Science & Technology Letters publication about a device described as a “passive” air sampler clip that could be used to assess personal exposure to COVID-19. Ideal applications could include workers in high-risk occupations, including food service and healthcare. While the use of active air sampling devices to detect the airborne presence of the virus is nothing new, these indoor monitors are typically large, expensive, difficult to transport, and require access to power. So, the solution targeted by Krystal Pollitt and her team at Yale was to develop the exact opposite — a smaller, lightweight, inexpensive, and wearable option that wouldn’t need an electrical outlet.