The enhancement of mass transfer from single oscillating aerocolloidal droplets having initial diameters approximately 40 microm has been measured using electrodynamic levitation to trap and oscillate a droplet evaporating in nitrogen gas. The frequency and amplitude of the oscillation were controlled by means of ac and dc fields applied to the ring electrodes of the electrodynamic balance (EDB). Elastic light scattering was used to size the droplet.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPsychro-active bacteria, important constituents of polar ecosystems, have a unique ability to remain active at temperatures below 0 degrees C, yet it is not known to what extent the composition of their outer cell surfaces aids in their low-temperature viability. In this study, aqueous suspensions of five strains of Arctic psychro-active marine bacteria (PAMB) (mostly sea-ice isolates), were characterized by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and compared with SERS spectra from E. coli and P.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA technique for distinguishing biological material based on surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is reported in this work. Of particular interest is biological material that can be airborne. Silver colloidal particles with diameters in the range 10 to 20 nm and with a characteristic ultraviolet-visible (UV-VIS) absorption band at 400 nm were used to obtain SERS spectra of Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Salmonella typhimurium bacteria and a number of tree and grass pollens (Cupressus arizonica (cypress), Sequoia sempervirens (redwood), Populus deltoides (cottonwood), Poa pratensis (Kentucky bluegrass), and Anthoxanthum odoratum (sweet vernal grass)).
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