Airborne particles and their adverse effects on air quality have been recognized by humans since ancient times. Current exhaust emission legislations increase the relative contribution of wear particles on the PM levels. Consequently, wear-based particle emissions from rail and road transport have raised concerns as ground transportation is developing quickly. Although scientific research on ai...

No instrument for sampling airborne dust or mist collects a sample which is truly representative of all the particles present. There are errors associated with the random variation of the cloud in time and position and instrumental errors due to the act of sucking the cloud into the sampling apparatus or to inherent failings of the dustseparating or measuring mechanism which cannot be entirely ...

The air we breathe contains microorganisms that can cause infectious respiratory diseases. After two occupants of an apartment were diagnosed with influenza in February of 2013, efforts were made to detect and isolate airborne influenza virus using two different types of active air samplers: a Sioutas Personal Cascade Impactor Sampler (PCIS) and an SKC BioSampler. The PCIS collects size-fractio...

Air is filled with numerous tiny organisms, with sizes ranging from 50 nm to 10 μm. These organisms are called airborne biological particles or bioaerosols. In the human history of investigating the origin of life and fighting against contagious diseases, the recognition of bioaerosols and the development of control methods against them have played crucial roles. The pandemic outbreak of flu du...

Nanoparticles have been defined as particles having one or more dimensions < 100 nanometers [nm] or 0.1 microns. They are so small they have different physical properties than conventional crystals of the same chemical. They have promising applications; a benefit is that airborne nanomaterials (NM) can condense with and clean smoke from the air more quickly than the smoke would settle without a...

Epidemics and pandemics of influenza are characterized by rapid global spread mediated by non-mutually exclusive transmission modes. The relative significance between contact, droplet, and airborne transmission is yet to be defined, a knowledge gap for implementing evidence-based infection control measures. We devised a transmission chamber that separates virus-laden particles by size and deter...

We demonstrate an integrated micro-optofluidic platform for real-time, continuous detection and quantification of airborne microorganisms. Measurements of the fluorescence and light scattering from single particles in a microfluidic channel are used to determine the total particle number concentration and the microorganism number concentration in real-time. The system performance is examined by...

Dispersal of microbes between humans and the built environment can occur through direct contact with surfaces or through airborne release; the latter mechanism remains poorly understood. Humans emit upwards of 10(6) biological particles per hour, and have long been known to transmit pathogens to other individuals and to indoor surfaces. However it has not previously been demonstrated that human...

Japanese cedar pollinosis has been recognized recently as a serious social problem because of its high prevalence in Japan. It is well-known that the pollen grains of Cryptomeria japonica pollen (so-called Japanese cedar pollen) usually exist as coarse particles about 30 μm. However, it was supposed that the major allergen Cry j 1 (Cry j 1 particles) could be released to the atmosphere as respi...