Bioaerosol Optical Sensor Model Development and Initial Validation

摘要

This paper describes the development and initial validation of a bioaerosol optical sensor model. This model was used to help determine design parameters and estimate performance of a new low-cost optical sensor for detecting bioterrorism agents. In order to estimate sensor performance in detecting biowarfare simulants and rejecting environmental interferents, use was made of a previously reported catalog of EEM (excitation/emission matrix) fluorescence cross-section measurements and previously reported multiwavelength-excitation biosensor modeling work. In the present study, the biosensor modeled employs a single high-power 365 nm UV LED source plus an IR laser diode for particle size determination. The sensor has four output channels: IR size channel, UV elastic channel and two fluorescence channels. The sensor simulation was used to select the fluorescence channel wavelengths of 400-450 and 450-600 nm. Using these selected fluorescence channels, the performance of the sensor in detecting simulants and rejecting interferents was estimated. Preliminary measurements with the sensor are presented which compare favorably with the simulation results.