An apparatus is provided for airborne pathogen detection, which includes a crystal microbalance. The apparatus includes specific capture probes that are affixed to the crystal microbalance and are designed to bind to and capture a specific pathogen, such as a virus particle. This capture causes a change in mass of the crystal microbalance that can be detected. A method is provided for airborne pathogen detection, which includes calibrating a resonant frequency of the crystal microbalance to a mass on the crystal microbalance. The method also includes a step of conjugating the antibody to the crystal microbalance. The method also includes, for each measurement time, measuring a resonant frequency of the crystal microbalance and determining a mass change due to binding of the pathogen to the detector. This mass change is then related to pathogen load in the medium. A notification is output if the viral load exceeds a predetermined threshold.