Aerosol Sampling and Microfluidic Analysis of Reactive Oxygen Species

DESCRIPTIONprovided by applicantCardiovascular diseases and Asthma affects betweenandmillion people in the United States includingmillion childrenduring the pastyearsits incidence worldwide has doubledAsthma is responsible formillion person days of restricted activity anddeaths per yearamounting to $billion in direct heath related coststhere is uncertainty about the specific factors that are contributing to its riseCardiovascular disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are also suspected to be related to environmental exposures butas with asthmathere is uncertainty about the importance of specific causative agentsThere is an ongoing need to conduct studies that investigate the impact of environmental and occupational particulate contaminants on the health of the populationUnfortunatelythe utility of such studies has been hampered by the limited capabilities of exposure monitoring equipment currently available to conduct such studiesMiniaturized exposure monitoring devices capable of in situ analysis of samples would greatly help us understand the relationships between aerosol exposure and healthThis proposal addresses the need for better personal exposure assessmentquantification and characterization of ultrafine particles in the environmentA successful outcome will result in an analysis tool that will collect airborne nanoparticles for subsequent in situ analysis using a microfluidic assayThe toxic potential of inhaled particles is dependent on particle size and chemical compositionWithin the respiratory tractparticle size determines the region of depositionresidence timesolubility and tissue uptakethe particle s chemistry determines the potential for biochemical reaction with tissue and cellsThere is a growing awareness that exposure scenarios are extremely complexconsisting of time varying concentrations and chemistries within all size classesExposure to complex environmental agentssuch as ultrafine particulate matter derived from diesel exhaustor engineered nanomaterials in the households and occupational setting and the effect on the health outcome need to be examinedWe anticipate that this novel cost effective approach allows us to apply this technology to many established and emerging areas of health researchas well as position this technology for rapid growth in several markets from consumer product to environmental monitoringpharmaceutical and semiconductor industriesHVACand regulatory monitoringand surveillance networksmilitary and security marketsThuswe will aggressively market our product both domestically and internationally