Spectrophotometric analysis as a complementary technique to aerobiology in the study of solid particles in the air

Hitherto, aerobiology has mainly focused on studying and analysing the biologic material found in the atmosphere (pollen grains and fungal spores), due to its allergologic and agricultural interest. However, the increase in respiratory tract problems caused by other solid particles suspended in the air has made studies including biologic and non-biologic material more frequent. This paper describes a simple technique based on spectrophotometric analysis. The results thus obtained can complement the outcome obtained by traditional aerobiologic techniques if the method is used properly and the equipment properly calibrated and an idea of the solid particles in the air can be obtained. The combination of both aerobiological and spectrophotometric analysis makes it possible to estimate the concentration of solid-particle material in the air, and we can also estimate the percentage of pollen grains and fungal spores among the general spectrum of particles. The results also show that a great part of the solid particulates originate from human activities. However, it was also observed that they emerge from natural sources as such as fungi and higher plants.