Bioaerosol detection using potentiometric tomography in flames
5 July 2012
Dimitris Sarantaridis, Christian Hennig and Daren J. Caruana
Chem. Sci., 2012,3, 2210-2216
DOI:
10.1039/C2SC20304A
Published article in Chemical Science.
Counting
and identification of airborne
biological particles is actually a very difficult analytical challenge.
The current method is based on trapping the particles on an adhesive
strip placed on a clockwork powered rotating drum. This is an antiquated
technology developed in the 1970’s and is still
used for pollen monitoring today. The method Dr Daren Caruana and
co-workers described in this publication is based on the propensity for a
particle to combust, similar to fragmentation using a laser on the
front end of a mass spectrometer (e.g. MALDI); but
then the detection of the fragments here is based on an electrical
detection (potentiometry). This approach is cost-effective requiring a
flame, electrodes and a voltmeter. In this paper we demonstrate the
potential to provide a viable approach for the detection
and identification of bioaerosols in real time using a robust gas phase
based electrochemical approach.
