| Summary: | This thesis presents research using a commercial aerosol time-of-flight mass spectrometer (ATOFMS TSI 3800), which was deployed in the laboratory to determine fundamental aspects of ion formation as well as to develop scaling factors to improve the number and chemical quantification of the ATOFMS instrument and to characterise pharmaceutical drug products. Additionally, data from field campaigns both in Ireland and Scotland were evaluated. Data from the deployment of the ATOFMS instrument at Mace Head, Galway, Ireland were used to determine the size and chemical composition of individual particles in the atmosphere as part of the North Atlantic Marine Boundary Layer Experiment (NAMBLEX) during August 2002. A total of 191,504 particles were detected. Rapid changes in number density, size and chemical composition of the atmospheric aerosol were observed. These data were analysed using a combination of statistical clustering procedures and manual classification, yielding three broad categories of particles; sea salt, dust and carbon-containing. The ATOFMS instrument has been used to assess the level of co-association of individual drug components present in different pharmaceutical products. Different efficiencies for different aerosolised pharmaceutical asthma drug products are reported.
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