Real-Time Single Particle Bioaerosol Detector

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I proposal seeks to develop a real-time instrument for measuring the angular scattering patterns from individual aerosol particles, and discriminate among them using advanced multivariate algorithms. The system is designed to be a modular instrument that can be incorporated in HVAC systems to provide a trigger technology for biocide countermeasures. In addition, the system may be incorporated into various bioaerosol fluorescence-based instruments, e.g., the Joint Biological Point Detection System (JBPDS), or complement existing monitoring programs, e.g., BioWatch, to provide additional discrimination capabilities. The Phase I research will demonstrate the feasibility of the approach through comprehensive laboratory experiments. The ability to discriminate among aerosols, and particularly to identify biological aerosols in a non-biological ambient background, will be quantified, and the performance of the anticipated Phase II prototype will be extrapolated based on the Phase I results. In addition, critical subcomponents will be identified and the Phase II prototype designed. The proposed core technology has numerous applications in commercial venues such as air quality monitoring and homeland defense.