Lighthart B., Mohr A.J. (Eds). Atmospheric Microbial Aerosols. Theory and Applications

Springer US, 1994. — 397 p.An aerosol is a colloidal suspension of liquid droplets or solid particles in air. A bioaerosol is then defined as an aerosol whose components contain, or have attached to them, one or more microorganisms. Consequently, a microbial bioaer-osol contains microorganisms such as viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, or algae that are usually viable, i.e., alive. Bioaerosols may be relatively solid particles or liquid droplets and range in size from a single microorganism to large droplets. These droplets may contain many microorganisms, pollen grains, and agglomera-tions andlor rafts of microorganisms attached to particulate plant debris, skin flakes, andlor soil particles (Fig. 1.1). Liquid droplets larger than one organism may change in size upon evaporation (or condensation), leaving an aeroplanktonic residue of nonvolatile solute, particulate matter and/or viable or non-viable mi-crooganisms. (To avoid the confusion of the changing condition of a liquid droplet evaporating to a dry particle, bioaerosols in this state will be termed droplet/particles or DIPs.)