ABSTRACT
The last quarter century has seen a revolution in application of sensitive and increasingly informative methods of chemical analysis. Modern physical methods of chemical analysis are exciting and promising alternatives to classical identification procedures but the future will surely confirm this promise. Therefore, several methods used for general aerosol sampling can be applied also for the collection of bioaerosols. Mass spectrometry has proved the most promising modern method for chemical detection and identification of microorganisms, including bioaerosols. Modern instrumental chemical analysis is in continuous and fast development, and therefore it may be expected that already proven procedures will be improved and new principles discovered and developed. For similar reasons, new applications for microbiological detection and identification including bioaerosols can be expected. This chapter briefly describes some of the more important and promising chemical methods that are applicable to detection and identification of microorganisms in general and bioaerosols in special cases.
