10th International Aerosol Conference September 2 - September 7, 2018 America's Center Convention Complex St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Abstract View
Laboratory Systems for Biological Aerosol Experimentation and Testing
JOSHUA SANTARPIA, Shanna Ratnesar-Shumate, Sandia National Laboratories
Abstract Number: 575 Working Group: Bioaerosols
Abstract Laboratory aerosol studies require careful control and measurement of the aerosol in addition the test environment. Biological aerosol studies can be even more complex, and studies that explain the potential changes to biological aerosol due to environmental factors are only beginning to emerge. In the last several years, many studies have used field and laboratory measurements to begin to understand the factors that may affect biological aerosols and their measurement. These factors include chemical and physical changes to the biological aerosols as well as and changes in the environment both of which may impact sensor performance and the accuracy of detection, identification or quantification the biological aerosols. If not properly controlled and quantified, environmental factors may unknowingly lead to uncertainty and variability in experiments and poor performance of measurement techniques. This talk will review laboratory test systems utilized in biological aerosol studies and factors that may impact biological aerosol measurement in both laboratory and field experiments. Laboratory systems to control for environmental impacts as well as the potential effect of the test systems on measurements, such as physical losses during aging studies, or variations in temperature, solar spectrum, and relative vs. absolute humidity effects will be discussed. A better understanding of how to design, optimize, and characterize bioaerosol test systems will ultimately improve our understanding of aerobiology and help to improve biological aerosol measurement studies and meaningfulness of the data.