By BioNanoNet
Dust is a collective term to describe the wide variety of organic and inorganic particles that can accumulate in closed environments: shed human skin cells, pet dander, dust mites, pollen, bacteria, plant and insect parts, fibres, and many more. All of them have different structures and composition, a fact that makes research studies extremely challenging. Four Institutes under the umbrella of the Austrian Cooperative Research (ACR) are working in close cooperation to analyse dust and its influence as one of the major parameters affecting indoor air quality and subsequently human health. ZFE Graz is focusing on the thorough characterisation of complex particles on the micro- and nanoscale. Therefore, the newly installed Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) combined with Raman spectroscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) is intensively used. With the correlation of high resolution SEM, EDX-mapping and Raman mapping at the same specimen position, material and chemical compositions of dust particles are being examined within the same system. In that context the major benefit of Raman spectroscopy is that especially the characterisation of organic materials, ergo the main components of dust, is efficient and easy. Additionally, the included particle analysing tool enables the automated examination of a huge quantity of particles, which – in comparison to standard systems – guarantees a higher throughput and thus more reliable data for statistical evaluation. These results will help understanding the composition and chemistry of organic as well as inorganic particles found in indoor dusts. Reference project: Research Project Staubanalysen in der Innenraumluft (BMDW [Bundesministerium für Digitalisierung und Wirtschaftsstandort], ACR - Strategische Projekte)
