{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,27]],"date-time":"2026-09-27T04:11:43Z","timestamp":1790482303824,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"19","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,9,23]],"date-time":"2020-09-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1600819200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.mdpi.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This study calculates and elucidates the minimum size of respiratory particles that are potential carriers of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2); furthermore, it evaluates the aerosol generation potential of SARS-CoV-2. The calculations are based on experimental results and theoretical models. In the case of maximum viral-loading derived from experimental data of COVID-19 patients, 8.97 \u00d7 10\u22125% of a respiratory fluid particle from a COVID-19 patient is occupied by SARS-CoV-2. Hence, the minimum size of a respiratory particle that can contain SARS-CoV-2 is calculated to be approximately 9.3 \u03bcm. The minimum size of the particles can decrease due to the evaporation of water on the particle surfaces. There are limitations to this analysis: (a) assumption that the viruses are homogeneously distributed in respiratory fluid particles and (b) considering a gene copy as a single virion in unit conversions. However, the study shows that high viral loads can decrease the minimum size of respiratory particles containing SARS-CoV-2, thereby increasing the probability of aerosol generation of the viruses. The aerosol generation theory created in this study for COVID-19 has the potential to be applied to other contagious diseases that are caused by respiratory infectious microorganisms.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph17196960","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,9,23]],"date-time":"2020-09-23T09:28:08Z","timestamp":1600853288000},"page":"6960","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":80,"title":["Minimum Sizes of Respiratory Particles Carrying SARS-CoV-2 and the Possibility of Aerosol Generation"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"17","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7619-0969","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Byung","family":"Lee","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Aerosol and Bioengineering Laboratory, College of Engineering, Konkuk University, 120 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05029, Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,9,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"WHO (2020, September 22). 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