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Science 20 February 2004:
Vol. 303. no. 5661, pp. 1173 - 1176
DOI: 10.1126/science.1092805
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Reports

Formation of Secondary Organic Aerosols Through Photooxidation of Isoprene

Magda Claeys,1* Bim Graham,2,3 Gyorgy Vas,1 Wu Wang,1 Reinhilde Vermeylen,1 Vlada Pashynska,1 Jan Cafmeyer,4 Pascal Guyon,2 Meinrat O. Andreae,2 Paulo Artaxo,5 Willy Maenhaut4

Detailed organic analysis of natural aerosols from the Amazonian rain forest showed considerable quantities of previously unobserved polar organic compounds, which were identified as a mixture of two diastereoisomeric 2-methyltetrols: 2-methylthreitol and 2-methylerythritol. These polyols, which have the isoprene skeleton, can be explained by OH radical–initiated photooxidation of isoprene. They have low vapor pressure, allowing them to condense onto preexisting particles. It is estimated that photooxidation of isoprene results in an annual global production of about 2 teragrams of the polyols, a substantial fraction of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimate of between 8 and 40 teragrams per year of secondary organic aerosol from biogenic sources.

1 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, B-2610 Antwerp, Belgium.
2 Biogeochemistry Department, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Post Office Box 3060, D-55020 Mainz, Germany.
3 Atmospheric Research, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, PMB 1, Aspendale, Victoria 3195, Australia.
4 Department of Analytical Chemistry, Institute for Nuclear Sciences, Ghent University, Proeftuinstraat 86, B-9000 Gent, Belgium.
5 Institute of Physics, University of São Paulo, Rua do Matão, Travessa R, 187, CEP 05508–900 São Paulo, Brazil.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: magda.claeys{at}ua.ac.be

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Isoprene Emission from Plants: Why and How.
T. D. Sharkey, A. E. Wiberley, and A. R. Donohue (2008)
Ann. Bot. 101, 5-18
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Phytoplankton and Cloudiness in the Southern Ocean.
N. Meskhidze and A. Nenes (2006)
Science 314, 1419-1423
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)