The mass spectral signatures of airborne bacteria were measured and analyzed in cloud simulation experiments at the AIDA (Aerosol Interaction and Dynamics in the Atmosphere) facility. Suspensions of cultured cells in pure water were sprayed into the aerosol and cloud chambers forming an aerosol which consisted of intact cells, cell fragments and residual particles from the agar medium in which the bacteria were cultured. The aerosol particles were analyzed with a high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer equipped with a newly developed PM2.5 aerodynamic lens. Positive matrix factorization (PMF) using the multilinear engine (ME-2) source apportionment was applied to deconvolve the bacteria and agar mass spectral signatures. The bacteria mass fraction contributed between 75 and 95% depending on the aerosol generation, with the remaining mass attributed to agar. We present mass spectra of Pseudomonas syringae and Pseudomonas fluorescens bacteria typical for ice-nucleation active bacteria in the atmosphere to facilitate the distinction of airborne bacteria from other constituents in ambient aerosol, e.g. by PMF/ME-2 source apportionment analyses. Nitrogen-containing ions were the most salient feature of the bacteria mass spectra, and a combination of C4 H8 N(+) (m/z 70) and C5 H12 N(+) (m/z 86) may be used as marker ions.
Keywords: aerosol mass spectrometry; amino acids; bacteria; bioaerosols; electron impact ionization; proteins.
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