Research
Focus
The main focus of the laboratory is to investigate physical and chemical properties of airborne pollutants and their interactions with the human respiratory tract. In particular we are interested in monitoring air quality in ambient, workplace, and indoor environments; designing and evaluating sampling and control devices; characterizing radioactive particles; assessing human exposure; and estimating respiratory dosimetry of pollutants or therapeutic particles.
We have expertise and equipment for both laboratory and field studies. In the laboratory we can generate air pollutants and simulate the exposure atmospheres necessary to investigate aerosol formation and transport processes as well as perform exposure assessments. We have wind tunnels and test chambers to evaluate air sampling instruments including personal samplers, continuation alpha monitors, and biological agent detectors/samplers. Rooms to simulate indoor environments have been used to assess the release and exposure of consumer products.
Our approach to field studies begins with a determination of sampling strategies, a design of the sample collection system, and then the sample analysis. We have experience in sampling coal-combustion-plant stacks, indoor quality of radon and pollens, aerosol exposure to depleted uranium inside armored vehicles, and characterizing marine aerosols for waterborne toxins.
Another area of interest is respiratory dosimetry of inhaled particles. We use realistic physical replicas of human nasal, oral, and tracheobronchial airways to investigate the mechanism of aerosol deposition and influence of airway geometry for deposition. One application for use of the replicas is to study the deposition pattern of aerosol drug delivery systems such as metered-dose inhalers (MDIs), nebulizers, and dry-powder inhalers (DPIs). Replicas and mathematical models can be used to estimate respiratory dosimetry for risk assessment and other purposes.
