AAAR 34th Annual Conference
October 12 - October 16, 2015
Hyatt Regency
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Abstract View
Multi-instrument Inter-comparison of Fluorescent Bioaerosol Measurement Techniques during Summer 2014 in Saclay, France
WALFRIED LASSAR, Kyle Pierce, Roland Sarda-Esteve, Jean Sciare, Ian Crawford, Martin Gallagher, David O'Connor, John Sodeau, Marie Prass, Christopher Pöhlker, Ulrich Poeschl, Sampo Saari, Jorma Keskinen, J. Alex Huffman, University of Denver, CO
Abstract Number: 413 Working Group: Bioaerosols
Abstract The real-time measurement of biological aerosols has been a field of growing interest due to the desire to obtain particle information at greater time resolution compared to traditional collection techniques, i.e impaction followed by microscopy analysis. High time resolution is needed, e.g., in biological aerosol emission flux measurement or in early warning systems against bio-warfare threats. However, with this growing interest the number of light-induced fluorescence (LIF) instruments capable of online measurements applied to bioaerosol detection has also increased. Relatively little work has been done to study the comparison of such instrumentation techniques with regard to their ability to detect particle concentrations, their fluorescence properties, and even size and shape characteristics.
From late June through early August 2014, a comprehensive international campaign (BIODETECT-2014) took place at the CEA/LSCE SUPERSITE in Saclay, France (15 km south from central Paris). The LIF instruments deployed included multiple WIBS (wideband integrated bioaerosol sensors: 3, 4 and 4A, DMT Inc.), a UV-APS (ultraviolet aerodynamic particle sizer, TSI Inc.), a MBS (multi-parameter bioaerosol spectrometer, University of Hertfordshire), and a Bioscout (Environics Ltd.). Alongside the LIF instruments, filter samples were collected on a single-stage impactor, stained with DAPI, and analyzed with fluorescence microscopy. Particle concentrations and their fluorescence properties were compared across the various LIF instruments. The presence of multiple WIBS versions allowed for the first ever comparison between generations and units of this one instrument type. The LIF measurements were also compared to the particle concentrations calculated via fluorescence microscopy. Preliminary findings will be presented.