Detection and analysis of airborne particles of biological origin: present and future

Abstract

Detection and identification of bioaerosols in the environment presents a unique analytical challenge. The complexity and variation of the analyte, coupled with the disparity of the end users required information has led to the establishment of a huge number of approaches for detection. In general these approaches may be divided into two elements; sampling, describing the physical process used to capture the bioaerosols and analysis, the method by which the bioaerosols are counted and identified. There are a large number of methodologies for both these elements, mainly due to the diversity of applications, and a very unhealthy absence of consensus on standardisation for these approaches. This is an analytical application where 'one size does not fit all'; nevertheless standardisation is still essential. The focus of this review will clarify the challenge, by discussing the many different bioaerosols to be measured and the required user output, also to give a critique of the various analytical approaches that exist to date, including other promising methodologies that could be applied.

Regional-scale simulations of fungal spore aerosols using an emission parameterization adapted to local measurements of fluorescent biological aerosol particles

“…Chemical and optical properties of PBAP samples or their tracers can be monitored in real time by chromatography, mass spectrometry, fluorescence spectrophotometry, lidar, and flow cytometry. Short overviews of PBAP analysis techniques have been given by Caruana (2011) and Després et al (2012). This paper focuses on the mesoscale simulation of atmospheric concentrations of fungal spores.…”

Investigation of a New Electrostatic Sampler for Concentrating Biological and Non-Biological Aerosol Particles

“…Caruana (2011) observed that relatively few studies have been published on the applicability of electrostatic precipitation to collect bioaerosols. However, interest in electrostatic methods is growing and studies recently showed that it is a suitable method to collect microorganisms (Table 1).…”

Global modeling of primary biological particle concentrations with the EMAC chemistry-climate model

“…Microorganisms have also been shown to be transported over long distances with desert dust from Asia and Africa (Griffin et al, 2007;Prospero et al, 2005;Smith et al, 2013), potentially contributing to the global transport of genetic information. 15 PBAPs have been identified and characterized using a large range of methods, including traditional methods such as microscopic analysis and cultivation methods, and modern methods using molecular techniques (Caruana, 2011;Després et al, 2012;Griffiths and Decosemo, 1994). However, continuous measurements of PBAPs have been limited, and therefore actual abundances, properties, as well as the origin of PBAPs and their components are still poorly quantified and understood (Burrows et al, 2009a;Burrows et al, 2009b).…”