American Association for Aerosol Research - Abstract Submission

AAAR 32nd Annual Conference
September 30 - October 4, 2013
Oregon Convention Center
Portland, Oregon, USA

Abstract View

The Application of the Universal Nanoparticle Analyzer for the Real-time Measurement of Engineered Nanoparticles in the Workplace

DREW THOMPSON, Jing Wang, David Y. H. Pui, University of Minnesota

Abstract Number: 478
Working Group: Engineered Nanoparticles: Emissions, Transformation and Exposure

Abstract
Engineered nanoparticle-enabled nanotechnology is experiencing unprecedented growth. With this comes greater opportunity for workers to be exposed to nanomaterials which some toxicological studies have shown to be hazardous. There is a clear need for the monitoring of this potential worker exposure. The purpose of the presented research is to extend the capabilities of the recently developed Universal Nanoparticle Analyzer (UNPA) for use in occupational nanoparticle exposure measurements. The UNPA consists of a differential mobility analyzer (DMA), a condensation particle counter (CPC), and a Nanoparticle Surface Area Monitor (NSAM). In the UNPA, monodisperse nanoparticles are simultaneously measured by a CPC and NSAM, which measure particle number concentration and lung-deposited surface area concentration, respectively. The ratio of these two measures, coined the UNPA sensitivity, can be used to characterize the morphology of nanoparticles. The instrument has already been demonstrated to be well-suited for process control in nanomaterial manufacturing. In this poster the potential use of the UNPA in nanoparticle exposure measurements will be investigated. There are three goals of this research. One, operate the UNPA in a scanning mode, by varying the voltage in the DMA, to allow for the simultaneous measurement of size distributions, lung-deposited surface area distributions, and UNPA sensitivity distributions. Two, evaluate the UNPA response to nanoparticles which are heterogeneous in shape. Three, relate UNPA sensitivity to parameters frequently used in toxicology studies: mass concentration and BET surface area.