Together we are advancing biodetection to protect people, nature and the planet
Invisible airborne threats impact public health, national security, agriculture, and even climate change. Yet our ability to detect and monitor them in real time remains limited.
Bioaerosols – airborne particles of biological origin, including bacteria, viruses, fungi, pollen, and toxins – are among the most ubiquitous, complex components in our atmosphere. They can spread disease, compromise food security, infiltrate the respiratory system, and be weaponised in biowarfare. They can even influence cloud formation, shaping weather patterns and climate.
Despite their significance, real-time detection of bioaerosols is underdeveloped, and existing monitoring systems are rarely deployed at scale. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted critical gaps in biological surveillance, infection control, and airborne hazard detection.
The Biodetection Technologies Hub is closing this gap. We are developing cutting-edge detection systems that can rapidly identify and quantify bioaerosols across multiple environments, from hospitals and military settings to farms and high in the Earth’s atmosphere. Our vision is to enable near-real-time biodetection, supporting faster responses to airborne threats and building safer, healthier, and more resilient environments.
Led by the University of Hertfordshire’s Wolfson Centre for Research in Biodetection Technologies, and supported by Cranfield University, the University of Leeds, and the University of Manchester, the Hub unites leading experts in engineering, aerosol science, microbiology, chemistry, atmospheric science, AI-driven analytics, and sensor technology. Through collaboration with government, industry and global research partners, we are pioneering the next generation of biodetection solutions.
FAQs
The Hub is supported by £13.5m in funding from Research England through their Expanding Excellence in England (E3) programme.
The £156m E3 fund supports small but outstanding research units in universities across England to rapidly scale up their activity where they have potential to grow. The aim of the fund is to enhance the skills base, build and diversify talent, and bring disciplines together to develop ‘future leaders’ in areas of research excellence where there is untapped potential.
The Hub is built around the expansion of sector-leading capabilities in the research-led development of biodetection systems and instrumentation at University of Hertfordshire’s Wolfson Centre for Biodetection Technologies. In 2023 the Centre received a philanthropic grant of £750,000 from the Wolfson Foundation to install new state-of-the-art biodetection lab facilities and equipment, which are now integral to the work of the Hub.
University of Hertfordshire’s Wolfson Centre for Research in Biodetection Technologies is a leader in developing next-generation biodetection technologies, with a strong track record in defence, security, and environmental monitoring. The Centre has a longstanding relationship with Dstl to develop advanced biological threat detection systems, including multiple novel prototypes for the UK Ministry of Defence. Its EPSRC, NERC, and BBSRC-funded research drives innovation in aerosol collection, bioaerosol monitoring, and environmental sensing.
Cranfield University leads the UKRI BioAirNet initiative, a network tackling bioaerosol challenges across air, soil, and water, which includes Dstl, the UK Health Security Agency and the Environment Agency. Its research spans indoor air quality, real-time pollutant monitoring, and next-generation infrared and optical sensors for gases and volatile organic compounds. Its NERC, EPSRC, and Horizon 2020-funded projects focus on bioaerosol monitoring in urban, agricultural, and industrial settings, informing public health strategies.
Bioaerosol research at University of Leeds, underpinned by a new EPSRC Chamber for Environmental Control of Airborne Microorganism, bridges the School of Civil Engineering and the School of Earth and Environment. Leeds is at the forefront of climate research, leading the NERC M-Phase (£2.35m) programme to refine climate models by studying aerosol impacts on cloud formation. It has delivered major EPSRC grants for the modelling and assessment of indoor air quality and infection risk in buildings, including hospitals.
Hub-affiliated researchers at University of Manchester’s world-leading Centre for Atmospheric Science specialise in real-time bioaerosol detection and data analytics. They co-lead a major NERC grant to upgrade instrumentation (including new bioaerosol detection systems) on the FAAM research aircraft, based at Cranfield. Manchester’s work spans global bioaerosol mapping, from the Southern Ocean to the North Atlantic, improving climate sensitivity predictions and environmental monitoring using Hub-developed technologies.
The Hub is developing new technologies that can collect, analyse and identify airborne biological particles more quickly and more accurately than is currently possible. These particles, known as bioaerosols, include bacteria, viruses, fungi, pollen and toxins. The journey of a bioaerosol, from the air to detection, can look like this:
Collection from the Air: Air samplers draw air into the system using pumps or fans. The airflow is carefully controlled to capture particles based on their size, charge, or density. Several different methods can then be used:
Filters trap particles on fine membranes.
Electrostatic systems charge and attract particles to a collection surface (e.g., an agar plate).
Hydrogels can directly trap particles in a jelly-like matrix, keeping them intact for analysis.
Separation and Recovery: The collected particles are transferred, via complex microengineering and microfluidics techniques, into a microscopic volume of liquid – to ensure the sample is highly concentrated. This is essential to detect incredibly small particles such as bacteria or viruses, e.g., a single, highly damaging bacterial spore that is below the infectious dose. The liquid sample is now ready for biological analysis.
Biological Detection: The sample undergoes analysis, depending on the target:
Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) amplifies genetic material to identify specific pathogens.
Gene sequencing gives a comprehensive view of all biology present.
Immunoassays detect unique proteins.
Advanced automation: Digital microfluidics can significantly enhance the diagnostic process by making sample handling more precise, faster, and automated. In simple terms, digital microfluidics uses tiny, controlled electric fields to move, mix, or split tiny droplets of liquid on a flat surface. In air particle detection, these techniques could process the collected samples with less waste, handle minute volumes of liquid more efficiently, and integrate multiple steps on a single, miniaturised device – what is often referred to as a ‘lab-on-a-chip’ device. This reduces time, cost, and human error, making biodetection systems more portable and accessible.
What next? The results indicate what’s in the air, how much, and whether it poses a threat, enabling timely action in critical situations like warzones or pandemics.