Molecular microbiological and immunological studies of air pollution.

A steady increase in chronic inflammatory diseases can be observed in regions with a high degree of industrialization and urbanization since World War II. The pro-inflammatory capacity of ambient air particulate matter and other air pollutants seems an important factor in the pathogenesis of these diseases, but the underlying mechanisms are not well understood.This project aims to generate more insights in the (micro)biology of air pollution by application of techniques from the fields of molecular microbiology and immunology to investigate the presence of micro-organisms and their endotoxins in particulate matter (PM) and to characterize the pro-inflammatory capacity of PM in detail.

Keywords:PARTICULATE MATTER, MICROBIOLOGY, AIR POLLUTION

Disciplines:Catalysis and reacting systems engineering, Chemical product design and formulation, General chemical and biochemical engineering, Process engineering, Separation and membrane technologies, Transport phenomena, Other (bio)chemical engineering