Current research at BARC is focussed on addressing some of the core challenges in aerosol science spanning respiratory aerosol and disease transmission, atmospheric aerosols and their impacts on climate and air quality, drug delivery to the lungs and formulation science.

Detailed studies of aerosols are performed by isolating a single particle, using an optical or electrostatic trap, and studying the properties of the particle directly and non-intrusively with optical spectroscopy. We use both optical techniques for trapping and manipulating particles with light, and electrodynamic traps for balancing the weight of a particle with an electrostatic force. The size, composition, phase, morphology and refractive index of the particle can be probed by elastic and inelastic light scattering. These techniques are now also being applied to studies of the airborne survival of bacteria and viruses.

Conventional aerosol measurement tools are being using to characterise the aerosols exhaled by human participants when we breathe, speak and sing to better understand the risks of airborne disease transmission. The same techniques are used to characterise aerosol generating procedures in clinical environments. 

To find out about our research in specific areas, select a topic from the left hand navigation menu.