Reversible changes in fluorescence of bacterial endospores found in aerosols due to hydration/drying [An article from: Journal of Aerosol Science]

This digital document is a journal article from Journal of Aerosol Science, published by Elsevier in 2005. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
In this study we show that the room temperature multiwavelength autofluorescence signature of wet Bacillus endospores is considerably different from that of the dry endospores. The fluorescence is measured with excitation wavelengths of 300-500nm with 50nm steps. Small differences are observed between the dry and the re-dried spores. The fluorescence spectra support the model of reversible water migration between inner spore compartments and the environment. Characteristic information is extracted from spectral fluorescence excitation-emission contours for these spores by applying the dimensional reduction of data techniques known as principal component analysis. Aerosol detection and identification techniques relying on fluorescence must take into account the hydration state of the spores and recognize the ability of the spores to rapidly change their state of hydration.