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Start of funding 01.07.2003
On-line analysis of bioparticles in the ambient aerosol
Prof. Dr. Ralf Zimmermann
University of Augsburg
Lehrstuhl für Festkörperchemie, Institut für Physik
Dr. Matthias Frank
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Standard
Rapid detection and identification of biological aerosols such as individual bacterial spores or cells has applications in cell biology, biomedical diagnostics and environmental monitoring. A first prototype system based on laser desorption/ionization is already able to distinguish between bacterial particles and background aerosols within seconds based on their unique mass spectral fingerprints. Also the classification (relation to possible emission sources) of combustion aerosols (e.g. soot particles) by their chemical composition is possible due to characteristic mass peak signatures.
One important aspect that needs to be studied further is how environmental contaminants, such as soot, accumulate on biological particles and how this changes the measured mass spectral signatures over the time they spend in the environmental air. Effects of anthropogenic emissions on the characteristic chemical fingerprints of bioparticles (e.g. by accumulation of soot on bioparticles) can be studied with the laser based methods. When changes in chemical fingerprints of bioparticles are known, an identification can be performed also in ambient air.