Identification of Dust Particles by Molecular Microspectroscopy

Frequently dust contamination is found on materials to be analyzed by molecular microspectroscopy. The presence of these contaminants often makes it difficult to ascertain the legitimate reason for a product defect or failure. A microspectroscopic study of dust in an office/lab environment has been carried out to identify the types and possible sources of dust contaminants. Various types of natural and synthetic polymeric materials were identified. It appears that paper products and proteinaceous materials are the major sources of dust contamination in the environments studied.