Airborne Particles with Biological Origin
Bioaerosol is airborne particulate matter of biological origin, including bacteria, fungi, viruses and fragments of these organisms, which can cause adverse health effects to people and animals. Information on concentrations, particle size distributions, and sources of bioaerosols is needed to estimate their health risks. Effective monitoring of bioaerosols requires efficient sampling and analysis techniques.
Understanding the Mechanisms
We develop techniques for bioaerosol measurement and investigate the bioaerosols in Switzerland and other countries. An example is the study on size-resolved endotoxin and oxidative potential of ambient particles in Beijing and Zürich. The results demonstrated that components of airborne particles in different regions could vary greatly. Therefore, improvement of the current air quality standards which only consider the airborne particulate matter mass, can be achieved by identification of the more harmful components such as endotoxin, and implementation of control strategies with focus on the harmful components.
