Applications of flow cytometry for the detection and characterization of biological aerosols

Flow cytometry (FCM), unlike conventional forms of spectroscopy, allows one to interrogate individual members of a sample population for size, shape, biological, and/or chemical properties. Over the past several years, we have investigated the use of flow cytometry to detect and identify microorganisms in aerosols. The effort to date has shown that changes in scatter patterns or DNA composition suggest that changes in the ambient air are evident. The use of macromolecular dyes and antibodies tagged by fluorescence can be used to identify specific components in the aerosol. Moreover, it is possible to combine several of these modes into one step. The assays presented here take 5 min or less to perform. Strategies for the use of flow cytometry to characterize biological aerosols will be discussed. Both laboratory and field studies that demonstrate the potential use of FCM as a means to detect and characterize microbiological materials in aerosols are discussed.