The optical identification of bioaerosols in the atmosphere and its discrimination against combustion related particles is a major issue for real-time, field compatible instruments. In the present paper, we show that by embedding advanced pump-probe depletion spectroscopy schemes in a portable instrument, it is possible to discriminate amino acid containing airborne particles (bacteria, humic p...

Maritime transport remains a large source of airborne pollutants, including exhaust particles that can act as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN).

Detection and characterization of the presence of chemical agent aerosols in various complex atmospheric environments is an essential defense mission. Raman spectroscopy has the ability to identify chemical molecules, but there are limited numbers of photons detectable from single airborne aerosol particles as they are flowing through a detection system. In this paper, we report on a single-par...

The deposition of aerosol in the lung is an important issue regardless of whether the aerosol results from airborne pollutants or aerosol therapy. The specific pattern of deposition of airborne pollutants is a determinant in the development of pulmonary diseases since this pattern determines the local doses in the airspaces and the subsequent redistribution and clearance of the deposited partic...

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE The presence of airborne bacteria in hospital environments is of great concern because of their potential role as a source of hospital-acquired infections (HAI). The aim of this study was the determination and comparison of the concentration of airborne bacteria in different wards of four educational hospitals, and evaluation of whether particle counting could be pred...

The 2009 H1N1 pandemic emphasized a need to evaluate zoonotic transmission of influenza A in swine production. Airborne influenza A virus has been detected in swine facilities during an outbreak. However, the personal exposure of veterinarians treating infected swine has not been characterized. Two personal bioaerosol samplers, the NIOSH bioaerosol sampler and the personal high-flow inhalable s...

-The Ames’s TA98 strain of Salmonella typhimurium with and without mammalian metabolic activation was used to detect the mutagenic activity of organic chemicals associated with airborne particles. Two kinds of particles: total suspended (TSP) and those particles with an aerodynamic diameter of 10 pm or smaller (PMIO) were collected in glass fiber filters using high-volume samplers during the dr...

Airborne particles play critical roles in air quality, health effects, visibility, and climate. Secondary organic aerosols (SOA) formed from oxidation of organic gases such as α-pinene account for a significant portion of total airborne particle mass. Current atmospheric models typically incorporate the assumption that SOA mass is a liquid into which semivolatile organic compounds undergo insta...

STANDARD OF REFERENCE Built and developed with the assistance of scientists closely associated with problems relating to airborne particles such as fungus spores and pollens, the sampler has proved to be a standard of reference throughout the world. Although the instrument compares closely to the trap described by Hirst in 1952 (Ann app. Biol 39 pp. 257-265) its performance has been enhanced by...

We demonstrate the use of holographic optical tweezers for trapping particles in air, specifically aerosol droplets. We show the trapping and manipulation of arrays of liquid aerosols as well as the controlled coagulation of two or more droplets. We discuss the ability of spatial light modulators to manipulate airborne droplets in real time as well as highlight the difficulties associated with ...