Real time detection of biological aerosols with fluorescence aerodynamic particle sizer (FLAPS)
Hoa, J.
1996 Journal of Aerosol Science, Volume 27, Supplement 1, S581-S582
Hoa, J., (1996), "Real time detection of biological aerosols with fluorescence aerodynamic particle sizer (FLAPS)", Journal of Aerosol Science, Volume 27, Supplement 1, S581-S582.
Abstract:
Our discovery, using flow cytometry techniques, that a single bacterial spore could be induced to fluoresce, led us to build the Fluorescence Aerodynamic Particle Sizer (FLAPS) for measurement of biological aerosols. This instrument was designed to measure particle size and fluorescence for each particle in an air stream. With this capability, analysis of the data permitted the experimenter to distinguish between biological aerosol particles and inanimate material like sand. Respirable particles (0.5-15 m size range) are sized by the time-of-flight method, initiated by HeNe laser while biological related fluorescence is elicited with excitation by HeCd UV laser at 325 nm. Particles containing molecules that are excitable at this wavelength emit light at between 400-580 nm and this fluorescence characteristic is suggestive of biological properties inherent with the particle. There is widely available evidence demonstrating that this type of observation is related to actively metabolizing "live" organisms synthesizing intracellular fluorescent biomolecules like NADH and riboflavin.